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.