WRITTEN QUESTION E-2365/97 by Fernand Herman (PPE) to the Commission (10 July 1997)

Subject: Subsidies granted to the Forest Stewardship Council

The Commission subsidizes the 'certification' of wood through aids granted to the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). These NGOs are advocating 'certification' at global level, including for European forests.

This is giving rise to serious concern in the European forestry sector because FSC/WWF certification was designed for large forest estates or concessions (from 200 000 to over 1 000 000 ha in Cameroon, Canada, the USA, Malaysia etc.). It is, however, inapplicable and exorbitantly expensive for European forests, which are extremely fragmented (with an average size of 14 ha for European private forests, 2.5 ha for Belgium).

Moreover, given the quality of European forestry management since more than a century, this type of certification would not bring any improvement to an already well-established system of forestry management.

Will the Commission state:

1. what brief it has received to subsidize 'certification' initiatives which run counter to the interests of the European forestry/wood industry and what scientific foundations it is based on;

2. why the Commission has chosen unilaterally to subsidize the FSC when other certification initiatives exist which are better suited to European forests;

3. why subsidies in excess of ECU 700 000 have been granted to each of the two associations (WWF and FSC) and an amount of ECU 3 million is reportedly about to be granted to them, apparently without any invitation to tender being made and without any tangible evidence of the competence of these organizations in the field of sustainable forestry management and in the wood trade?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (4 November 1997)

1. Council Regulation (EC) No 3062/95 of 20 December 1995 on operations to promote tropical forests ((OJ L 327 30.12.1995. )) constitutes the legal basis for activities under budget heading B7-6201, the overall aim being the conservation and sustainable management of tropical forests. The definition and development of certification systems, combined with independent assessment systems, for timber produced from tropical forests according to sustainable forest management principles, is mentioned in the Regulation as one of the areas to which particular consideration shall be given (Article 4.1 (b)). Consequently, the contracts which the Commission has signed with the Forest stewardship council (FSC) and the World wide fund for nature (WWF) cover activities concerning tropical, i.e. non-European forests.

The inclusion of tropical timber certification as one priority field under the tropical forest budget line was welcomed and supported by the Parliament throughout the procedure under which the Regulation was adopted.

Regarding the scientific basis, it is noted that the various currently available definitions of sustainable forest management are typically based on both accumulated scientific knowledge and private sector processes, and contain many similarities.

The Commission is aware of the practical problems, specific to the Community, which arise upon the possible introduction of voluntary certification systems at the level of small forest estates. These might include, for instance, high unit costs and excessive bureaucracy. In this context, the Commission recognizes the importance of finding ways for possible certification schemes to be adapted to European conditions in order to give small-scale European forest owners and European industries equal opportunities in the market.

2. The recipients of aid and partners in cooperation may include not only states, regions and overseas countries and territories but also decentralised authorities, regional organisations, public bodies, local and traditional communities, private industries and operators, cooperatives and non-governmental organisations and representative associations of forest peoples, which include the conservation of tropical forests among their objectives or regular activities. The Commission, assisted by independent experts, assesses project proposals according to their compatibility with priorities established by the Regulation whilst applying strict quality criteria.

Particularly in the European context, the Commission has supported and promoted an open and free dialogue with as many as possible of the interested parties from the Member States and partner countries. The Commission has not given preference to any particular organisation in the field of certification and labelling.

In addition to the grants mentioned by the Honourable Member the Commission finances a wide range of other projects related to certification which aim to analyze and improve certification as a tool.

3. In the field of development cooperation, the Community's financial regulation allows for direct agreement with non-profit making institutions or associations. FSC and WWF-Belgium are charitable organizations under Mexican and Belgian law respectively.

FSC has been granted ECU 708 232 for a project covering the consultation among national stakeholders in ten selected countries in Latin America and Asia and the development in these countries of agreed national or regional certification standards accompanied by training activities and a support programme for certifiers. This experimental project will be evaluated at the end of its two-year duration.

The WWF project 'Promotion of sustainable forest management and certification in timber producing countries of the Congo basin' was reviewed and received a favourable opinion by the Commission in March 1997. The project will be cofinanced by the Dutch development cooperation and the Community. The Community contribution is likely to be MECU 1.5.

In addition to the grants mentioned by the Honourable Member the Commission finances a wide range of other projects related to certification which aim to analyse and improve certification as a potential tool. The Commission finances also a large number of projects promoting the sustainable management of forests and conservation of biological diversity of forest ecosystems.