Barama Company Limited’s (BCL) certification from the international Forest Steward-ship Council has been suspended since the company failed to comply with certain conditions under the certificate, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, WWF Guianas Programme Officer Patrick Williams said that on January 10, Barama informed the organisation of the suspension by SGS-Qualifor (SGS), an independent FSC-accredited certification body.
“WWF is deeply disappointed by Barama’s failure to comply with the certification and calls on the company to do whatever it takes to get back into full compliance with the FSC’s rigorous environmental, social and economic standards,” Williams said.
He said that 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 practice of both certified producers as well as the certification bodies that conduct the field audits.
Contacted yesterday, BCL’s General Manager Girwar Lalaram told Stabroek News that the company will be issuing a statement on the issue after meetings with SGS and FSC on the way forward.
But he said that the company was in receipt of a three-month suspension from SGS and that further action will be contingent upon on the company – owned by Malaysian interests – correcting deficiencies on the ground. “However, a meeting has been set for all parties concerned. We are so far awaiting a final report from the auditors as to the areas of concern.
We will make public the findings [of the audit] after the meeting.
This is not a withdrawal of the certification,” Lalaram said.
Barama was awarded the certification in February 2006 for 570,000 hectares of its forests in west central Guyana by SGS – only a portion of its vast concession. WWF provided the financial and technical support to Barama in the process leading up to its successful certification.
The company’s certification was contingent upon its correcting several minor deficiencies for which SGS issued corrective action requests (CARs). “These CARs detailed mandatory improvements in Barama’s performance in the area 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,” the statement from Williams said.
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.
Staff of the WWF met with Barama officials to discuss the company’s adherence to responsible forest management practices that the FSC standards mandated. “During the process it became increasingly clear to WWF that Barama neither carried out nor gave priority and resources to many of the improvements the company had committed to pursue,” Williams said.
He said that the WWF wrote Lalaram in December expressing concern and urging the company’s management to solve these problems immediately. According to the WWF, Barama’s CEO replied accepting the deficiencies identified to date and pledging to return to full compliance with the provisions of its FSC certification.
Engage
Williams said that the 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.”
“As such, the WWF calls upon Barama to make a public statement
