Swedish company SCA again violates forest certification standards

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) and Greenpeace Nordic have filed a new joint formal complaint against the Swedish forest company SCA regarding two clear-cut loggings in northern Sweden.

The environmental organizations have listed more than one hundred evironmentally related violations of the FSC forest standard and have noted a large number of findings of red-listed species in each of the two sites. The certificate of SCA should now be withdrawn.

At Ratnivaara, about 30 kilometres south of Gällivare and in Norrmyrberget, 12 kilometres south-west of Vuollerim Greenpeace activists have revealed a large number of violations against the environmental statutes of the FSC-standard that SCA is bound to comply with.

– SCA continues to destroy what is still left of high nature value forests in northern Sweden. What we repeatedly have seen reflects such a grave lack of proper routines and knowledge in the company, so we are forced to the conclusion that the FSC-certificate of SCA should be withdrawn until further notice, says Mikael Karlsson, president of the SSNC.

At Ratnivaara there is an area of about 80 hectares ancient pine forest of which 33 hectares have been logged so far and the rest is marked for logging. At Norrmyrberget in the municipality if Jokkmokk, SCA has logged 28 hectares of natural mixed coniferous and deciduous forest with abundance of dead wood.

In the formal complaint to the FSC certifying organization the SSNC and Greenpeace Nordic criticize:

• Natural forests of considerable age and high protection value have been clear-cut. Nature values have been destroyed for ever.
• A large number of findings of remnants of red-listed species have been made in the clear-cut areas. Special consideration to such species should be taken according to FSC. 39 findings of red-listed species were made in Ratnivaara and 29 in Norrmyrberget.
• Consideration has not been taken to small habitats with special biodiversity values.
• High biodiversity trees have been logged.
• Dead trees that are important for biodiversity have been run over and damaged by harvesters.

SCA is already involved in a process where the company’s FSC-certificate is reviewed. This review was finished last Friday, just after SSNC’s and Greenpeace’s filed their formal complaint. The certifying organization is
requested to take the new information into account.

– Altogether the violations of the FSC-standard found here are very serious. It is remarkable that a company that is being reviewed for several violations to the FSC-standard during last year can’t avoid new wrongdoings, says Mirjam Lööf forest campaigner at the SSNC.

– What we saw at Ratnivaara was a forest that should have been protected for the future. To sell wood from this forest, claiming it as certified is to cheat the companies and consumers who trust the labelling, says Amanda Tas forest campaigner at Greenpeace Nordic.

Free press photos:

http://www.naturskyddsforeningen.se/press/pressbilder/sca-avverkning/
http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests3/RatnivaaraFSCLoggingGLlivareSCA
http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests3/NorrmyrbergetJokkmokkSCA

For further information please contact:

Mikael Karlsson, Chair of SSNC, +46 70-316 27 22
mikael.karlsson@naturskyddsforeningen.se

Mirjam Lööf, Forest campaigner SSNC +46 70-556 95 22
mirjam.loof@naturskyddsforeningen.se

Amanda Tas, Forest campaigner Greenpeace Nordic + 46 70-5080715
amanda.tas@nordic.greenpeace.org

Anders Grönvall, Press Officer SSNC , +46 70-655 46 19
anders.gronvall@naturskyddsforeningen.se