04/07/2005 - WWF, the
global conservation organization, applauds
the world's first FSC certification of cork
oak forests and products in the Mediterranean.
The cork oak forest owners and processors
recently achieved Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) certification, recognizing that their
forests and operations are managed to the
highest international social and environmental
standards.
WWF supports the efforts of the cork sector
in Italy, Portugal, and Spain in demonstrating
the responsible management of cork oak forests.
WWF calls on all cork producing countries
to adopt similar measures.
In Portugal, 912ha of cork land in the Alentejo
region are now FSC-certified. This certification
will enable cork manufacturers like Amorim,
which owns two FSC-certified processing units,
to supply the market with the first FSC cork
products.
In Spain, 11,405ha have been FSC-certified
in Andalucia in southern Spain. Andalucia's
cork forests are the best conserved in the
country and host several endangered species
such as the Iberian lynx.
In Italy, 66ha of cork forests in Tempio
Pausania in northern Sardinia have also been
FSC-certified. Sardinia holds 90 per cent
of Italy's cork forests.
“This is a major step for biodiversity conservation
and for the cork trade," said Nora Berrahmouni,
Coordinator of the WWF Cork Oak Landscapes
Programme.
"Cork oak forests rank among the top
biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean
and in Europe. At the same time, they are
the backbone of an entire economy. FSC certification
will reinforce the already environmental-friendly
characteristics of the cork economy, leading
to new opportunities in cork markets.”
Cork oak forests represent one of the best
examples of the harmonious interaction between
people and nature in the Mediterranean where
almost the entire world production of cork
is found. Hundreds of thousands of people
earn their livelihood from the cork forests,
while supporting nature. Not a single tree
is cut to harvest the cork as the bark is
stripped every 9-12 years.
Cork ecosystems are characterized by high
levels of endemism, with plant species reaching
up to 135 species per 0.1ha. These forests
host endangered species like the Iberian imperial
eagle or the barbary deer. But over the last
decade, damaging policies, poor forest management
and a change in the cork market have resulted
in the degradation and loss of these unique
forests.
“This new FSC cork certification meets the
increasing demand in many industrialized countries
for sustainable natural products produced
in an environmentally responsible way,"
said Jamie Lawrence, regional manager for
Western Europe for SmartWood-Rainforests Alliance,
an FSC certifier.
"As a key part of an overall marketing
package, it will help to improve existing
markets and create new ones."
Since July 2004, WWF has been implementing
the Cork Oak Forest Landscapes Programme,
aimed at promoting responsible forest management
and restoration practices.
End Notes
• There are seven major cork producing countries
in the world - Portugal, Spain, Algeria, Morocco,
Italy, Tunisia, and France.
• Launched in July 2004, WWF's five-year
Cork Oak Landscapes Programme aims to protect,
manage, and restore the natural wealth of
cork oak forests by influencing the policies,
practices and markets that affect them. The
programme addresses key challenges by promoting
sustainable markets, improving governance,
changing policy, building capacity at local,
national and international levels, and demonstrating
solutions through field projects. It will
focus first on Portugal, Spain, Morocco and
Tunisia, and is based on four inter-related
pillars including capacity building, good
practices establishment, market support, and
policy/advocacy.
• Forest certification is a system of forest
inspection with a means of tracking forest
products through a "chain of custody"
– following the raw material through to the
finished product. FSC certification provides
an internationally recognized label, used
to encourage and promote responsible forest
management. Increasingly, major retailers
and customers are demanding assurance that
products they source or buy come from responsibly
managed operations.
• SmartWood is a programme under the Rainforest
Alliance, a not-for-profit organization helping
businesses, governments and communities change
their land-use practices and set standards
for the long-term use of resources and the
conservation of the planet’s great wealth
of biodiversity. The SmartWood programme was
founded in 1989 to certify responsible forestry
practices and has to date certified more than
38 million acres worldwide.
