PEFC suspends assessment of Myanmar forest certification system

On the eve of the United Nations International Day of Democracy, the assessment of the Myanmar forest certification system has been suspended with immediate effect due to concerns that Myanmar-based stakeholders are unable to participate in the assessment process.

Open, transparent, and meaningful stakeholder engagement is core to PEFC processes, which includes the ability of all participants to speak freely without fear of reprisal. Information received following the launch of the global public consultation, and integral part of the assessment process, indicates the risk of potential or actual self-censorship or self-imposed restriction by Myanmar-based stakeholders.

The recent arrest of Kyaw Min Htut, an environmental and democracy activist and former civil society representative on the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee, exemplifies the restrictions to speak freely.

Police reports state Kyaw Minn Htut was detained under Article 50 of the country’s Counterterrorism Law, and allege he supported and gave financial help to groups classified as terrorists by the military junta, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). Kyaw Min Htut was also a member of the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade multi-stakeholder group and a member of the Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability network.

In addition, officials of the Building and Woodworkers Federation of Myanmar (BWFM) have pending warrants of arrest, their passports declared void by military junta and its local member unions are harassed by state security forces to disassociate from BWFM. BWFM is a recognised stakeholder in the MFCC and an affiliate of Building and Woodworkers International (BWI), a PEFC International Stakeholder member.

The assessment and thus the endorsement process of the Myanmar forest certification system is therefore suspended until further notice.

PEFC Board of Directors continues to monitor the situation and will review it at its next meeting in October 2021.
https://pefc.org/news/pefc-suspends-assessment-of-myanmar-forest-certification-system

Related Posts

SCA appeals Land and Environmental Court ruling and harvesting ban

In February 2021, the Land and Environmental Court in Östersund upheld an appeal from the Skydda Skogen (Protect the Forest) association regarding a number of harvesting notifications on SCA land in Jämtland and Härjedalen. The Court also found in favor of a harvesting ban at the harvesting sites in question. SCA is now appealing this ruling to the Supreme Land and Environmental Court. In accordance with the Swedish Forestry Act, SCA reported the planned harvesting to the Swedish Forest Agency. The Agency had no objections and accordingly, after a period of six weeks, the landowner is free to implement the planned harvesting. The Skydda Skogen association conducted inventories in the areas in question and submitted the results to the Swedish Forest Agency in the form of findings of red-listed plant and animal species. When the Swedish Forest Agency did not act on this information, Skydda Skogen appealed the Agency’s decision – or, more correctly, that it refrained from making a decision. This appeal was upheld by the Land and Environmental Court in Östersund, which also referred the case back to the Swedish Forest Agency and ruled in favor of a harvesting ban.

Paper industry beats energy-saving targets

The UK’s papermaking industry has smashed its energy-saving targets for the two-year period from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2016. All 45 of the UK’s paper mills take part in the voluntary Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme, launched in 2001, which gifts mills partial relief from the Climate Change Levy (CCL) tax in response for them delivering proven energy efficiency improvements. The paper sector was one of the first to agree to the CCA and by 2006 all mills had signed up. For the two-year period in question, the sector’s agreed target was to deliver a 7.1% improvement on 2008’s figure, and it actually improved by just shy of 10% (9.7%). Performance is defined in terms of a specific set of energy efficiency measurements mostly related to the use of electricity. Click Read More below for more of the story.

Target to Expand Solar Deployments to 180 Stores and DCs

Target Corp. is expanding its deployment of solar energy. The retailer has signed a power-purchase agreement with Greenskies Renewable Energy LLC that calls for supplier to install solar arrays on the roofs of 180 Target stores and distribution centers across the United States from Augusta, Maine, to San Diego. When completed, the solar installations will produce an aggregate total of approximately 100 megawatts of electric energy. Though the size of the solar array will vary at each of the retail locations, the average system will consist of 1,700 solar panels. All 180 projects are expected to be completed by the winter of 2016. Under its power-purchase agreement with Target, Greenskies will design, develop, finance, own and maintain each of the 180 solar installations. Target has agreed to purchase 100% of the electricity produced at each of the sites at a fixed and sharply discounted rate for the length of the contract. Each roof-top array will produce between 20% and 30% of the total electricity requirements of the retail outlet on which it is built, Chester said.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search