FSC or PEFC certification in Ecuador

‘A top-down or bottom-up approach’

Forestry in Ecuador

• ~9.8 million ha of forest (36% coverage), mostly in Amazon (80% of biomass and 62% of area)1.

• 49% primary forest, 50% natural regeneration and 1% planted2.

• Ministry of Environment (2011) estimate 3 million m3 of timber harvested annually, 2.2 from plantations, 0.4 from native forest and 0.4 from secondary forest.

• Only 0.4-0.5 million m3 harvested through licensing system3. Only 2% of forests are plantations4.

• Timber trade is up to 50% of some household’s income and 20% of community income. Average family harvests 10m3 of wood or ~12 trees in year5.

• CIFOR Pro-Formal study shows that legal management plans bring greater profits to smallholders6.

• Commercial plantations often monocultures of fast growing, invasive species such as Eucalyptus (above), Pines and 95% of balsa production for world7.

Threats to Forests

3. Oil Extraction

2. Illegal Logging

1. Land Use Changes e.g. Agriculture, cattle grazing, palm oil and mining.

Tackling the Issue

• ITTO estimates only ~50% of timber from licensed producers8.

• 2008 – REDD+ (Reduction of Emissions by avoiding Deforestation) = income stream9.

• 2012 - National Afforestation and Reforestation Plan (PNFR) in place. Social forestry and agroforestry10.

• 2013 - Constitution provides rights to nature.

• Sistema de Administración Forestal – trying to bring small producers into legal context. Good laws, but hard to implement.

1990-2000 2005-2010 2012-Present

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Deforestation Rate (% per annum)

• GIS satellite estimates since 1990. Rates based on REDD+ data11.

FSC Benefits• Very rigorous, internationally recognised

global standards.• Bolivia, Colombia and Brazil have FSC

standards and have similar issues. • Pro-environment government attempting

to have more centralised control over forestry so could work with FSC-STD-60-006 international standards12.

• Could increase GDP share from oil (currently ~40% of total) to higher value forestry products. Forestry exports = 2.3% GDP share13.

• Much higher revenue from NTFPs, fruits, resin and medicine than alternative land use14.

FSC Drawbacks

• Economic lobby often holds most power over social and environmental lobby15.

• High levels of corruption (107th best of 177 countries assessed by Transparency International)16.

• ‘Greenwashing’ – Commercial interests and corruption of plantation certificates.

• Timber markets dominated by small/individual buyers and suppliers (only 12% companies). Minimum 100m3/per annum necessary to remain profitable and go through legalization bureaucracy17.Export market dominated by relatively poor countries with less regard for

certified products18.

PEFC Benefits

• More tailored to specific local, regional and national needs and priorities.

• Standards tailored to small, family and community owned forests.

• Can get both PEFC and FSC certification.

• Meets ITTO standards for tropical forests19.

• Only S.American countries certified are Brazil and Chile. Brazil has significant, forestry dependent rural population.

PEFC Drawbacks

• Child labour: 2.7% of children (5-14) were used in labour and 71% in agricultural activities including timber trade20.

• Faced much criticism from WWF and Greenpeace21.

• Controversy of standards in Tasmania22.

• Hands tied by local legislation. PEFC risk assessment standards lower quality and narrower in approach23.

• PEFC endorses national CoC standards which may be weaker than FSC. PEFC may be too flexible24.

And the Winner is:

• FSC standards being implemented by CEFOVE. • FSC accredits big plantations but neglect smaller, more sustainable

owners. • PEFC ‘bottom up’ approach may incorporate more diverse interest

groups. • PEFC can be integrated with existing national schemes such as the

Socio Bosque program and National Afforestation and Reforestation Plan (PNFR).

• PEFC has a speciality in domestic supply Chain of Custody (CoC) programs.

• FSC and PEFC can both be adopted to cover different aspects. • Smallholding forest managers need alternative revenue stream from

NTFPs which could be accredited by PEFC, e.g. increase agro-forestry.

Issues Still Remain

• As with any complex environmental problem, there is no one, simple solution.

• Problem is tied into global inequality, • PEFC or similar system need to work with

government in encouraging small forest owners to conglomerate and co-operate in order to enter into legal, permit driven forestry. Therefore decreasing the initial, up-front cost of certification.

Photo of me in Ecuador

Bibliography/References

• Title Slide: http://www.aneki.com/poorest_south_america.html?number=25, http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/salandst.htm, • Forestry in Ecuador: • 1, 3. http://www.forestlegality.org/risk-tool/country/ecuador, • 2. http://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/2000/Ecuador.htm, • 4. http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/projects/jefferson.htm • 5. http://blog.cifor.org/17332/who-buys-who-sells-how-much-mapping-ecuadors-timber-markets?fnl=en, • 6. http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/infobrief/3328-projectbrief.pdf • Tackling the Issues• 7. http://ecuadorbalsa.com/balsa.htm• 8. http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/projects/jefferson.htm • 9, 10, 11. http://theredddesk.org/countries/plans/national-afforestation-and-reforestation-plan-ecuador • FSC Benefits• 12. https://ic.fsc.org/en/certification/national-standards • 13. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/ecuador/gdp-growth • 14. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4314245?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents • FSC Drawbacks• 15. http://www.fsc-watch.org/archives/2006/11/03/Ecuadorian_groups_challenge_certificates_and_quit_national_FSC_initiative • 16. https://www.transparency.org/country/#ECU • 17. http://www.cifor.org/fileadmin/subsites/proformal/PDF/PROFORMAL_Smallholders_Lima_Dec2013.pdf • 18. http://inversion.produccion.gob.ec/en/investment-portfolio/forestry/ • PEFC Benefits• 19. file:///C:/Users/Owen/Downloads/PEFC__FSC_Factsheet.pdf • PEFC Drawbacks• 20. http://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/ecuador.htm • 21.

http://m.greenpeace.org/international/en/mid/campaigns/forests/solutions/alternatives-to-forest-destruc/Weaker-Certification-Schemes/ • 22. https://www.wilderness.org.au/pefc-approved-unsustainable-stamp-approval • 23. http://www.fsc-uk.org/preview.comparative-analysis-of-the-pefc-system-with-fsc-controlled-wood-requirements.a-257.pdf • 24. file:///C:/Users/Owen/Downloads/2009_01_27_final_fcag_summary.pdf

Photo/Figure Credit• Title Slide - Title Slide -

http://www.ezilon.com/maps/south-america/ecuador-road-maps.html, https://ajunglescientist.wordpress.com/category/travels/ecuador/,

• Forestry in Ecuador• http://www.wwf.org.au/our_work/saving_the_natural_world/forests/threats/illegal_l

ogging/, http://sailasya.tradeindia.com/eucalyptus-plantation.html,

• Threats to Forests - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/oct/05/brazil-amazon-reforestation,

• Deforestation Rates – Percentages from: http://theredddesk.org/countries/ecuador • FSC Benefits - http://www.commercialflooringdesign.co.uk/environment/fsc-logo/ • FSC Drawbacks -

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112748565/amazon-trees-survive-global-warming-121412/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation

• PEFC Benefits - http://annualreport2012.cifor.org/articles/increasing-womens-participation-in-community-forest-management-in-nicaragua/,

• PEFC Drawbacks - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Fund_for_Nature, https://notafishblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/02/greenpeace-vs-sea-shepherd/