BORAL are trying to get their wood certified as Forest Stewardship Council ‘lite’ known as Controlled Wood. If successful they will be able to say that all logging on private and public land in NSW both native forests and plantations, is done without damage to ‘high conservation values’.
High Conservation Values include:
1. Areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g., endemism, endangered species, refugia);
2. Areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant large landscape level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance;
3. Areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems;
4. Areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g., watershed protection, erosion control);
5. Areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g., subsistence, health); or,
6. Areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities).
As any observer of forestry practises in NSW would know. These values are not being respected or protected. In many areas they are being destroyed.
The certifying body Woodmark, (Soil Association) are seeking comment from stakeholders before deciding whether to award BORAL the light green tick.
You will find the two related documents linked below.
The file CA-CW-COC-007 etc contains a questionnaire. Please complete it and send it in to Woodmark. Send photos of some logging in your area as well. If you are sending your response by email please send us a copy too.
Submissions close June 13
You can email us at contact@nefa.org.au
Stakeholder Consultation for certification audit of Boral Timber Fibre Exports letter & email