16 Jan 2007 - On 10 January 2007, WWF was informed by Barama
Company Ltd that its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification
in Guyana was suspended by SGS-Qualifor (SGS), an independent
FSC-accredited certification body, for failure to comply
with certain conditions under the certificate.
WWF is deeply disappointed by Barama's failures to comply
with the certification and calls upon the company to do
whatever it takes to get back into full compliance with
the FSC's rigorous environmental, social and economic standards.
The suspension of Barama's certification by SGS is a good
example of what the FSC system was designed to do - detect
and specify improvements for responsible forestry practices,
of both certified producers as well as the certification
bodies that conduct the field audits.
Barama was awarded FSC certification in February 2006 for
570,000 hectares of its forests in west central Guyana by
SGS. WWF provided financial and technical support to Barama
in the process leading up to its successful certification.
Barama's certification was contingent upon correcting several
minor deficiencies, for which SGS issued "corrective
action requests" (CARs). These CARs detailed mandatory
improvements in Barama's performance in the areas of worker
housing, hygiene and safety, road planning and several other
issues. These CARs formed the basis of SGS's monitoring
audit in November 2006.
During the year since Barama achieved its certification,
staff from the WWF Guianas Programme Office visited the
company's operations several times under an ongoing monitoring
programme. WWF staff also met with Barama officials to discuss
the company's adherence to responsible forest management
practices mandated by the FSC standards.
During this process, it became increasingly clear to WWF
that Barama did not carry out nor give priority and resources
to many of the improvements the company had committed. WWF
wrote to Barama's CEO in December 2006 expressing concern
and urging the company's management to solve these problems
immediately. Barama's CEO replied, accepting the deficiencies
identified to date, and pledging to return to full compliance
with the provisions of its FSC certification.
WWF is prepared to engage immediately with Barama, local
forestry experts and SGS auditors to address all the deficiencies
discovered during the audit SGS conducted, provided that
Barama renew its commitment to certification and deliver
the resources necessary to get the job done right.