Forest destruction in Finland, much of which is certified under the Finnish Forest Certification Scheme
Key weaknesses in the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes
PEFC currently allows logging in old growth and other ecologically valuable forest ecosystems, like for example in Finland. Less than 5 per cent of Finnish forests are old growth but only 2.5 per cent are protected - the unprotected areas are currently being logged under the Finnish Forest Certification Scheme (FFCS), endorsed by PEFC.
The PEFC in Finland has completely failed to protect threatened species. The standard claims to protect demarcated habitats of these species but it includes no system to map or find the habitats of these species. As a consequence, habitats of threatened species are being destroyed as part of normal PEFC practice. A recent investigation by Greenpeace, for example, found hundreds of endangered mushrooms, including species strictly protected under Finnish legislation in an area about to be logged under PEFC certification.
The PEFC in Finland has completely failed to protect threatened species. The standard claims to protect demarcated habitats of these species but it includes no system to map or find the habitats of these species. As a consequence, habitats of threatened species are being destroyed as part of normal PEFC practice. A recent investigation by Greenpeace, for example, found hundreds of endangered mushrooms, including species strictly protected under Finnish legislation in an area about to be logged under PEFC certification.
Developed and dominated by the forest industry
Moreover, the minimum standard required to receive PEFC certification is low and varies considerably from country to country. Whilst some national standards do insist on some performance-based criteria (i.e. setting specific targets to improve forest management on the ground), this is not the case in others, for example in France.
The PEFC scheme was solely developed and dominated by the forest sector unlike the FSC, which was developed by social, environmental as well as business groups. This means there is totally inadequate stakeholder representation of environmental organisations and indigenous groups. In Finland, for example, indigenous Sami communities, who are dependent on the forests for their traditional livelihood of reindeer herding, are in conflict with the Government who logs the forests certified under the PEFC scheme.
The PEFC chain of custody, which allows for a percentage of non-certified wood fibre in PEFC-certified products, is weak. Suppliers of raw materials need only provide a self-signed declaration that the products do not contain any wood fibre from controversial sources. In most PEFC national standards, 'controversial sources' are defined only as illegal timber: definitions make no reference to logging of rare, old-growth high-conservation-value forests.
Read our report: "Certifying Extinction: an assessment of the FFCS"
