SmartWood and one of the oldest experimental forests in Europe
have signed contracts for certification

Krakow, Poland -- SmartWood has signed contracts for forest management certification of the Experimental Forest in Rogów, a subdivision of the Forestry Faculty of the Warsaw Agricultural University (SGGW). The experimental Forest is managing 3 600 ha of forest, and is yearly visited by 40, 000 students, foresters, teachers and local communities.

SmartWood and one of the oldest experimental forests in Europe
have signed contracts for certification

Krakow, Poland -- SmartWood has signed contracts for forest management certification of the Experimental Forest in Rogów, a subdivision of the Forestry Faculty of the Warsaw Agricultural University (SGGW). The experimental Forest is managing 3 600 ha of forest, and is yearly visited by 40, 000 students, foresters, teachers and local communities.

The Experimental Forest in Rogów was established in 1919 as a supplementary holding of the University. Nowadays it consists of five organizational units: Arboretum, Center for Nature-Forest Education, Forest District, Nursery Center, and Center for Game Breeding. The major functions of the Experimental Forest are: carrying out research and experiments; providing training to a wide range of students and specialists; implementing scientific solutions and know-how in forestry practice.

"FSC certification will testify our many years work for sustainable development of forestry through research, education and management of our forest resources. It is also a chance for keeping our place in wood producers' market on the way to United Europe", - commented Janusz Falkowski, director of Experimental Forest in Rogow.

There are four experimental forests in Poland with total area of ca 24,400 ha. All of them are subdivisions of Polish Universities.

The FSC certification process in Poland started in 1996, when two regional directorates of State Forests (RDSF) in Gdañsk and Szczecinek were certified. Year by year Poland has increased the area of certified forest to 4.1 million ha, which constitutes almost half of the country's forest area. Poznan and Pila RDSFs with the total area of 800,000 ha of forestland are currently under assessment. SmartWood expects to reach the relevant certification decision by the middle of January 2003. SmartWood has also completed the pre-assessment of Lodz and Radom RDSFs, covering 600 000 ha. Poland is also leading in chain-of-custody certification: close to 130 companies have been awarded the FSC certificate.

SmartWood started to work in Poland earlier this year when an office was opened in Krakow in cooperation with Natural Systems/NEPCon. "Objectives of Experimental Forest perfectly fit into three-side structure and philosophy of FSC: balance of ecological, social and economical aspects of forest management. FSC certification of Rogów Experimental Forests also adds the fourth aspect – nature and forest education. I strongly believe that certification will be beneficial also for thousands of visitors and researchers who will see how FSC idea works in practice”, - says Dr. Andrzej Czech, director of Natural Systems/NEPCon, SmartWood's certification partner in Poland.

The certification assessment of Rogów Experimental Forests will be based on the Draft SmartWood Baltic Interim Standards, which are available on NEPCon's homepage. The main certification assessment is scheduled to start on February 3rd in 2003. SmartWood team will appreciate any comments on the Standards and on the forest management conducted by Rogów Experimental Forest. Anyone with related information or comments is encouraged to contact Andrzej Czech from Natural Systems/NEPCon, SmartWood’s Certification Partner in Poland, phone +48 601 91 29 65, email: ac@nepcon.dk.

SmartWood has signed contracts for certification of 600,000 hectares
of public forestland in Poland

Krakow, Poland -- SmartWood has signed contracts for assessment of two Regional Directorates of State Forest (RDSF) in Lodz and Radom covering about 600,000 ha of forestland.

SmartWood has signed contracts for certification of 600,000 hectares
of public forestland in Poland

Krakow, Poland -- SmartWood has signed contracts for assessment of two Regional Directorates of State Forest (RDSF) in Lodz and Radom covering about 600,000 ha of forestland.

“All parties benefit from certification: foresters appreciate the correspondence of forest management to the international criteria of sustainable development while wood buyers use certification as a tool of environmental marketing. The additional effect is ecological awareness raising within society”, - explained Adam Wasiak, the director of RDSF in Radom.

The total forest area in Poland is 8.7 million ha, covering approximately 28 pct of the country's area. State forest constitutes 82 pct of this territory, and its management is organized by 17 Regional Directorates of State Forest. Directorates are subdivided into 438 forest districts.

Tadeusz Baryla, vice-director of RDSF in Lodz commented that: "voluntary certification of forest management is a message to the wide public insuring that wood and wood products consumption don’t damage natural environment when forest is managed in a proper way. It is rather reverse: consumption of wood as natural, environmentally friendly and renewable material, rather than using its substitutes, is a chance for diminishing civilization's negative impact on environment”.

The FSC certification process in Poland started in 1996, when two regional directorates in Gdañsk and Szczecinek were certified. Year by year Poland has increased the area of certified forest to 4.1 million ha, which constitutes almost half of the country's forest area. Poznan and Pila RDSFs with the total area of 800,000 ha of forestland are currently under assessment. SmartWood expects to reach the relevant certification decision by the middle of January 2003. Poland is also leading in chain-of-custody certification: close to 130 companies have been awarded the FSC certificate.

SmartWood started to work in Poland earlier this year when an office was opened in Krakow in cooperation with Natural Systems/NEPCon. "I am very glad to assist next managers of Polish forests in reaching the highest environmental, social and economical standards in forestry management. FSC certification is not just the product logo any longer, it changes the way of thinking and decision making, improves cooperation between many stakeholders and really makes a difference in traditional understanding of forestry, - says Dr. Andrzej Czech, director of Natural Systems/NEPCon, SmartWood's certification partner in Poland.

The certification assessment of Radom and Lodz RDSFs will be based on the Draft SmartWood Baltic Interim Standards, which are available on NEPCon's homepage. The main certification assessment is scheduled to start on January 27th in 2003. SmartWood team will appreciate any comments on the Standards and on the forest management conducted by Lodz and Radom RDSFs. Anyone with related information or comments is encouraged to contact Andrzej Czech from Natural Systems/NEPCon, SmartWood’s Certification Partner in Poland, phone +48 601 91 29 65, email: ac@nepcon.dk.

Please see also the public announcement on certification process...

Illegally logged wood from Estonian National Park has NOT been processed by SmartWood FSC certified sawmill.

This public announcement has been prepared by NEPCon, SmartWood’s representative in Denmark, Poland and the Baltic countries, to clarify the SmartWood position on use of illegal wood by SmartWood certified companies and to present the position of SmartWood regarding the alleged purchase of illegal timber by SmartWood chain of custody (CoC) certified company Imavere Sawmill in Estonia. Imavere Sawmill is the largest sawmill in the Baltic countries with a yearly processing of 700.000 cbm roundwood.

Illegally logged wood from Estonian National Park has NOT been processed by SmartWood FSC certified sawmill.

This public announcement has been prepared by NEPCon, SmartWood’s representative in Denmark, Poland and the Baltic countries, to clarify the SmartWood position on use of illegal wood by SmartWood certified companies and to present the position of SmartWood regarding the alleged purchase of illegal timber by SmartWood chain of custody (CoC) certified company Imavere Sawmill in Estonia. Imavere Sawmill is the largest sawmill in the Baltic countries with a yearly processing of 700.000 cbm roundwood.

SmartWood has a strict policy prohibiting the use of illegal wood by SmartWood CoC certified companies. According to the policy, SmartWood certified companies that knowingly purchase and process illegal wood (including non-certified supplies) will have their certificates suspended or terminated by SmartWood. All SmartWood CoC certified companies have accepted these terms upon awarding of their certificate.

Imavere Sawmill holds a valid SmartWood chain of custody (CoC), certificate number SW-COC-730. The certification decision regarding Imavere Sawmill was made by SmartWood in 23 May 2002 and a certificate was issued to Imavere Sawmill in 27 June 2002.

In March 2002, there was a documented illegal harvest in Lahemaa National Park, the oldest national park in Estonia. It was documented that some of the illegal wood from Lahemaa National Park was delivered to and processed by Imavere Sawmill in March and April 2002. This wood was not certified, nor did Imavere Sawmill hold a certificate at that time.

Imavere Sawill was assessed by NEPCon/SmartWood for chain of custody certification in 8 May 2002. In a 14 May 2002 article published in the Estonian daily Postimees it was reported that illegal felling had taken place in Lahemaa National Park and allegations which proved true traced this timber to Imavere Sawmill.

Following this information, NEPCon/SmartWood held a stakeholder meeting on 3 June 2002 with Estonian ENGOs to discuss how a sawmill can ensure that it does not receive and process illegal wood.

Based on the stakeholder meeting and the earlier allegations, on 27 June 2002 SmartWood made a certification decision to grant a CoC certificate to Imavere Sawmill, under very specific terms that they would have to implement three specific conditions related to checking the origin of non-certified wood. These conditions are presented below:

1) Imavere shall develop a company policy and strategy for ensuring compliance with SmartWood policy on illegal wood.
2) Imavere shall establish and implement a wood tracking system for non-certified inputs and undertake random checks on the the origin and legal status on non-certified wood for suppliers that do not have a wood tracking system in place.
3)Imavere shall revise its purchase agreements with suppliers to include a requirement that:
- all suppliers must confirm the legal status of the wood they supply;
- if the wood appears to be illegally harvested that Imavere shall apply financial sanctions against its suppliers. Options for sanctions include either not paying for supplies, fining their suppliers in the amount that equals to the value of supplied illegal wood and/or if illegal wood is supplied systematically then termination of the purchase agreement with the particular supplier.

On 31 October 2002, a press release issued by 6 Estonian ENGOs claimed there was ongoing illegal felling again in Lahemaa National Park and that there was a possibility that this wood reached Imavere Sawmill.

As part of its inquiry into the issue, NEPCon/SmartWood contacted Imavere Sawmill immediately to get clarification from the sawmill. On 5 November 2002, Imavere Sawmill purchase manager informed NEPCon/SmartWood that it had received two truckloads of wood from the illegal harvest site. The purchase manager confirmed that Imavere Sawmill has identified that this wood originates from illegal source and that the sawmill has refused to purchase this wood from the supplier, Sylvester Kuusalu. The supplier has been ordered by Imavere Sawmill to remove this wood from Imavere stockyard as soon as possible. These two loads have been stored separately in the sawmill’s stockyard and have not been and will not be processed by the sawmill.

_________________________________________________________________________________________
For further information please contact: Kristjan Tõnisson from NEPCon’s Estonian office. Tel: +372 56 91 87 28, Fax: +372 7 380 723, Email: krt@nepcon.dk

SmartWood has completed the forest management pre-assessment of STF Strug. STF Strug has a lease agreement on 18 400 ha of state forest land on the territory of Pskov Model Forest in Pskov region, Russia.

SmartWood has completed the forest management pre-assessment of STF Strug. STF Strug has a lease agreement on 18 400 ha of state forest land on the territory of Pskov Model Forest in Pskov region, Russia. The pre-assessment of STF Strug was carried out on 15-17 October 2002. The main assessment is planned to begin in March 2003. Anyone interested in receiving further information or making suggestions on certification process is welcome to contact Kristjan Tõnisson.

A more detailed public announcement of the certification process can be found here...

SmartWood has completed a pre-conditions verification process at Priluzsky Leskhoz, Komi, Russia. The total area of the Leskhoz is 795,000 ha. The certification process was started with pre-assessment in 1999 and is expected to end with a certification decision within this year.

SmartWood has completed a pre-conditions verification process at Priluzsky Leskhoz, Komi, Russia. The total area of the Leskhoz is 795,000 ha. The certification process was started with pre-assessment in 1999 and is expected to end with a certification decision within this year.

SmartWood completes the pre-assessment of 800,000 hectares of State forest land in Poland

Krakow, Poland - SmartWood has conducted the pre-assessment of two Regional Directorates of State Forest (RDSF) in Poznan and in Pila covering about 800,000 ha of forestland. The purpose of the pre-assessment was to evaluate the ecological, economic and social sustainability of the forest operations as well as point out major weaknesses in meeting the FSC requirements. Based on the results of the pre-assessment, SmartWood’s certification experts recommended that Poznan and Pila RDSFs continue with the certification process.

SmartWood completes the pre-assessment of 800,000 hectares of State forest land in Poland

Krakow, Poland - SmartWood has conducted the pre-assessment of two Regional Directorates of State Forest (RDSF) in Poznan and in Pila covering about 800,000 ha of forestland. The purpose of the pre-assessment was to evaluate the ecological, economic and social sustainability of the forest operations as well as point out major weaknesses in meeting the FSC requirements. Based on the results of the pre-assessment, SmartWood’s certification experts recommended that Poznan and Pila RDSFs continue with the certification process.

The total forest area in Poland is 8.7 million ha, covering approximately 28 pct of the country's area. State forest constitutes 82 pct of this territory, and its management is organized by 17 Regional Directorates of State Forest. Directorates are subdivided into 438 forest districts.

"The process of forest management FSC certification in RDSF Poznañ is motivated by wood buyers expectations. Certification is an important marketing tool which ensures that forest management is conducted according to the rules of sustainability”, says Wiesùaw Nowakowski, the head of RDSF Poznañ Marketing Department.

Janusz Adam Sterczewski, the director of RDSF Pila commented that Pila "...began the certification process in order to expand the market for RDSF Pila products, and to adjust our forestry to the requirements of the European Union."

The FSC certification process in Poland began in 1996, when two regional directorates in Gdañsk and Szczecinek were certified. Year by year Poland has increased the area of certified forest to 4.1 million ha, which constitutes almost half of the country's forest area. On the web site of General Directorate of State Forests you can see map, which shows certified forests in Poland. Poland is also leading in chain-of-custody certification: 109 companies have been awarded the FSC certificate. The majority of FSC certifications in Poland was carried out by SGS Qualifor.

SmartWood started to work in Poland earlier this year when an office was opened in Krakow in cooperation with Natural Systems/NEPCon. Currently SmartWood has certified three wood processing companies in Poland, and more certification jobs are on the way.

“The decision of RDSFs Poznan and Pila to undertake the assessment clearly demonstrates the mechanism of FSC certification, which is driven by global market and is a voluntary tool for improving forest management, says Dr. Andrzej Czech, director of Natural Systems/NEPCon, SmartWood’s certification partner in Poland.

The certification assessment of Poznan and Pila RDSFs will be based on the Draft SmartWood Baltic Interim Standards, which are available on NEPCon's homepage. The main certification assessment is scheduled to start on November 18th ane the fieldwork will continue for two weeks. SmartWood expects to reach the certification decision by the middle of January 2003. The SmartWood team will appreciate any comments on the Standards and on the forest management conducted by Poznan and Pila RDSFs. Anyone with related information or comments is encouraged to contact SmartWood - see the contact details below.

____________________________________

Andrzej Czech, Natural Systems/NEPCon
Phone: +48 601 91 29 65
E-mail: ac@nepcon.dk

Latvian State Forest "Latvijas valsts meþi"and SmartWood have signed agreement for FSC Certification Assessment of more than 750.000 ha of forest.

Riga, Latvia - Today SmartWood and State Joint Stock Company "Latvijas valsts meþi" (LVM) signed contracts for carrying out forest management certification assessments of four forest regions comprising 48% of total forestland managed by LVM – in all more than 750.000 hectares of forest. A similar area was FSC certified last year by the SGS Qualifor program. The Latvian forest area is the biggest in the Baltic states with about 2.4 million hectares the half of which belongs to the state.

Latvian State Forest "Latvijas valsts meþi"and SmartWood have signed agreement for FSC Certification Assessment of more than 750.000 ha of forest.

Riga, Latvia - Today SmartWood and State Joint Stock Company "Latvijas valsts meþi" (LVM) signed contracts for carrying out forest management certification assessments of four forest regions comprising 48% of total forestland managed by LVM – in all more than 750.000 hectares of forest. A similar area was FSC certified last year by the SGS Qualifor program. The Latvian forest area is the biggest in the Baltic states with about 2.4 million hectares the half of which belongs to the state.

SmartWood was selected to provide certification services in a public tender. The tender committee decision was approved by the Board of LVM on the 11th of September.

“The decision of LVM to continue the certification process will confirm Latvia's position as one of the leading countries within FSC certification in the Eastern Europe”, says Peter Feilberg, Director of NEPCon – SmartWood’s certification partner in the Denmark and the Baltic countries. “A large share of the Latvian timber industry is already certified and a broad range of certified products such as sawn timber, charcoal, briquettes, veneer, plywood, furniture, garden utilities, particleboards are sold at the western European market”.

Two SmartWood certification teams will start the assessment on the 4th of November. The fieldwork is expected to take two weeks, and SmartWood expects a certification decision at the end of the year. One month prior to the assessment SwartWood will circulate public stakeholder notification on the coming certification process. The aim of this public information is to seek for public input and stakeholder comments on the management of LVM.

The teams will be lead by Peter Feilberg and Kristjan Tõnisson respectively, and include additional Latvian forest experts. The assessment will be based on the Draft SmartWood Baltic Interim Standards, which are available on NEPCon’s homepage. The SmartWood team will appreciate any comments on the Standards and on the forest management conducted by LVM that might be relevant for the certification evaluation. People holding related information or comments are encouraged to contact SmartWood – see below for contact details.

_____________________________________

NEPCon
Phone: + 372 7 380 723
Fax: + 372 7 380 724
Mailing address: postbox 520, 50002 Tartu, Estonia

Peter Feilberg
Email: pf@nepcon.dk; mob. + 372 56 640 246

Kristjan Tõnisson
Email: krt@nepcon.dk; mob. + 372 56 918 728

Two sawmills from the Estonian biggest forestry group Sylvester now certified

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification to Näpi Sawmill, the second FSC certified company from Sylvester Group. Näpi is the fourth biggest sawmill in Estonia, with a yearly production of 75 000 m³ of sawn wood planned for this year. Its total production capacity reaches 100 000 m³.

Two sawmills from the Estonian biggest forestry group Sylvester now certified

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification to Näpi Sawmill, the second FSC certified company from Sylvester Group. Näpi is the fourth biggest sawmill in Estonia, with a yearly production of 75 000 m³ of sawn wood planned for this year. Its total production capacity reaches 100 000 m³.

"The reason why our company was seeking FSC certification is to stay competitive in the future as well", - explained Jaano Haidla, the chairman of the Näpi Sawmill board.

The first Sylvester Group company, granted FSC certification was Imavere Saeveski, the biggest sawmill in the Baltic region assessed by SmartWood in June 2002. The main FSC certified supplier for both Näpi and Imavere Sawmills is Estonian State Forest Management Center.

"The yearly sawn wood production in Imavere and Näpi Sawmills together is about 400 000 m³. The certification of these two major sawmills is an important step towards linking the market for certified products in Western Europe to the certified forest in Estonia", - says Kristjan Tõnisson, Executive Director of NEPCon Estonia, SmartWood certification partner in the Baltic countries. Mr. Tõnisson expects other sawmills to follow Imavere and Näpi in the coming months. Currently, there are 7 wood processing companies certified in Estonia, 29 in Latvia and 9 in Lithuania.

Related news:

The Baltic's Largest Sawmill FSC-certified
Estonia Now One of the Largest Areas of Certified Forest in Eastern Europe

Tartu, Estonia -- The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification to Imavere Saeveski (www.imavere.ee), the Baltic’s largest sawmill producing 325.000 cbm/yr. of sawn wood for construction, furniture and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) industries. About a third of the production is sold in Estonia while the rest is exported to other European countries, North America, the Far East, Australia and North Africa. Imavere is a limited company, with the Swedish-Finnish company StoraEnso and the Estonian Sylvester Group as main stakeholders.

Tartu, Estonia -- The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain-of-custody certification to Imavere Saeveski (www.imavere.ee), the Baltic’s largest sawmill producing 325.000 cbm/yr. of sawn wood for construction, furniture and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) industries. About a third of the production is sold in Estonia while the rest is exported to other European countries, North America, the Far East, Australia and North Africa. Imavere is a limited company, with the Swedish-Finnish company StoraEnso and the Estonian Sylvester Group as main stakeholders.

Imavere’s main supplier of certified wood is the Estonian State Forest Management Centre (RMK, www.rmk.ee) that manages more than 800.000 hectares of state forest. RMK was granted an FSC certificate (SW-FM/CoC-176) by SmartWood in February 2002.

"The certification of Imavere is a huge step forward for the supply of FSC certified sawn wood from the region. The interest towards FSC-certification has increased noticeably since a large amount of certified wood from the state forest became available on the Estonian market", says Kristjan Tõnisson, Executive Director of NEPCon Estonia, SmartWood's certification partner in the Baltic countries. "Some wood processing companies are already waiting for the assessment, while a number of others are in the process of gathering information on FSC and the details of the certification process" Currently, there are 4 wood processing companies certified in Estonia, 23 in Latvia and 8 in Lithuania.

“A major challenges for Imavere and other Estonian sawmills is to reduce the risk of buying illegal wood, which is unacceptable at certified sawmills. Imavere has therefore taken steps to implement a wood tracking system to check the legal status of their non-certified supply, and to apply financial sanctions against suppliers that deliver illegal wood”, explained Kristjan Tõnisson.

“The FSC-certification of the Baltic’s largest sawmill will allow the local secondary manufacturers a chance to produce FSC-certified products and communicating their environmental concern to their clients and customers”, continues Kristjan Tõnisson. “As a result of the certification of Imavere Saeveski, we expect to see finished FSC certified products on the market in the near future."

"Having an FSC chain of custody certificate is inevitable, otherwise we cannot sell wood to our main customers", says Peedo Pihlak, Executive Director of Imavere Saeveski. He also mentioned that in future, the sawmill expects to charge more for selling certified wood.

“The certification of Imavere is certainly good news for many of our clients, especially those in the UK and Germany that historically have secured their supply from Finland, but are looking for FSC certified alternatives”, says Abraham Guillen, SmartWood’s Market Development Manager. “Only very small areas have been FSC certified in Finland today and FSC certified wood from Estonia is a good alternative to the non-certified Finnish wood.”

Related news:

Estonia Now One of the Largest Areas of Certified Forest in Eastern Europe

Our office in Poland commenced the work

On June, 1 the representation of SmartWood opened the doors in Krakow. Due to this initiative Polish producers, leading in FSC certification in the world, have now access to the highest standard of FSC certification services and market linkages consultation. SmartWood is represented in Poland by Natural Systems company, closely cooperating with NEPCon.

Our office in Poland commenced the work

On June, 1 the representation of SmartWood opened the doors in Krakow. Due to this initiative Polish producers, leading in FSC certification in the world, have now access to the highest standard of FSC certification services and market linkages consultation. SmartWood is represented in Poland by Natural Systems company, closely cooperating with NEPCon.

Danish printing houses can now deliver printed materials produced from environmentally friendly printing processes and on Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper.

Richmond, Vermont -- The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance announced the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of two established printing houses in Denmark. Schultz Grafisk, founded in 1661, and Stibo, founded in 1794, both received the FSC seal of approval for their environmental practices, as well as being certified according to ISO 14.001 and the Nordic Swan environmental labelling system. The Schultz group is additionally certified according to ISO 9001.

Danish printing houses can now deliver printed materials produced from environmentally friendly printing processes and on Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper.

Richmond, Vermont -- The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance announced the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of two established printing houses in Denmark. Schultz Grafisk, founded in 1661, and Stibo, founded in 1794, both received the FSC seal of approval for their environmental practices, as well as being certified according to ISO 14.001 and the Nordic Swan environmental labelling system. The Schultz group is additionally certified according to ISO 9001.

Both companies offer a broad range of graphic services, from layout and design, printing, binding, storing to electronic publishing and electronic information system. The Schutz group is responsible for printing of laws and other government documents including the Danish Passports, and is comprised of Hafnia Tryk, Notex Tryk and Design, Stougaard Jensen/Scantryk, Schultz Information and Schultz Data. Stibo Group, comprising both Stibo Graphics and Aarhus A/S, is a supplier of advanced publishing solutions for the publishers of newspapers, magazines, catalogues and telephone directories. Stibo Graphics achieved their own FSC certification last year.

"For several years, we have focused on the environment and on setting new standards for environmentally friendly production", says Peter Suhr, sales director in Schultz Grafisk. "We are very happy that our customers now can have their publications printed on the most environmentally friendly paper on the market, where careful environmental considerations are documented all the way from the growing of the trees in the forest through the production of pulp and paper to the printing of the final publication."

Many Danish printing houses have a long tradition for integrating environmental considerations into their production and often fulfill the requirements of the Nordic Swan eco-label and ISO 14001/2. "The combination of these two systems ensures our customers of minimal environmental impact from our production", says Uffe Hansen, Marketing Director of Stibo. "However, we felt a need to focus more on the paper supply and to ensure that it originates from well managed forests, which FSC certification guarantees."

"SmartWood’s FSC certification of Dalum Papir in Denmark last year set in motion interest for FSC certification among Danish printing houses", says Peter Feilberg, Director of SmartWood’s certification partner, NEPCon, which was responsible for the certification assessment. "The printing houses have now gained access to FSC-certified paper, and we expect several other printing houses to follow over the next months."

Dalum Papir produces a paper (RePrint FSC) consisting of a mix of recycled fibre, FSC-certified new fibre and uncertified new fibre.

___________________________________

The certified printing houses can be contacted at:

Schultz Grafisk, Flemming Skovlund, Herstedvang 12, DK-2620 Albertslund, Denmark. Phone: +45 43632300, Fax: +45 43635329, email: fsl@schultz.dk, homepage: www.schultz.dk. Certification Code: SW-COC-698

Stibo, Uffe Hansen, Søren Nymarksvej 1, DK-8270 Højbjerg, Denmark. Phone: +45 89398939, Fax: +45 89398940, email: ufh@aas.dk, homepage: www.aas.dk. Certification Code: SW-COC-703

VERMONT, December 12

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Management Certification for a well managed forest to a private forest owner in Finland. This certification is the first in Finland under the globally recognised FSC scheme. Finland was also the final country in Northern Europe to at last achieve the goal of FSC certification.

VERMONT, December 12

The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Management Certification for a well managed forest to a private forest owner in Finland. This certification is the first in Finland under the globally recognised FSC scheme. Finland was also the final country in Northern Europe to at last achieve the goal of FSC certification.

Forests are one of the most important resources in Finland, with the forestry sector accounting for just below 8 percent of the country’s GDP. As such, Finland has a well-structured system to provide operational forestry assistance including a national network of Forest Centres, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Forest Management Associations (FMA). FMAs are groups of forest owners established to develop good forest management practices among their members. According to Finnish law, forest owners must belong to a FMA and pay a management fee unless exempted by specific criteria. Most forest properties have a written management plan produced by a regional Forest Centre or an FMA. In the summer of 2001, the FSC Draft Finnish Forest Certification Standards were released, and formed the basis for all future FSC assessments and audits of Finnish forest management operations until the final Standards become endorsed.

The SmartWood assessment of this private forest originally took place in late 2000, with later reviews of the assessment conducted in consideration of the newly released FSC Draft Finnish Standards. A team of professional foresters and biologists, using the SmartWood Generic Guidelines for Assessing Forest Management, carried out the assessment. The team inspected different stands, silvicultural sites, and special conservation zones, as well as potential future harvest sites.

“With these certifications, the opportunity is now real for SmartWood to deliver FSC certification in Finland”, said Charles Townsend, SmartWood’s European Regional Manager. “SmartWood continues to set the ‘gold standard’ for forest certification world-wide”, he continued, “and I am confident that many more Finnish forest owners will now want to pursue FSC certification”.

"Finland is a hugely important supplier of timber and paper to the UK," said Catherine Graham, Coordinator of the WWF 95+ Group. "WWF hopes other forest owners will follow suit and become FSC certified so that UK purchasers wanting to buy certified wood, guaranteed to be from well managed forests from Finland can do so."

“FSC certification has grown significantly in the Baltic States over the last year and it is good to see this wave extend into Finland at last” said Peter Feilberg of NEPCon, SmartWood’s NGO collaborator in Estonia.

The forests certified by SmartWood is located in the Länsi-Suomi County in the southern part of Finland. Dominating species are Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris), Norway Spruce (Picea abies) and Birch (Betula sp.).

Certified area in the Baltic Countries increased more than 10 times

Public announcement, Latvia, Riga 13th of September, 2001

For immediate release

SmartWood has awarded the Riga City forest under Riga City Council the Forest Stewardship Council’s FSC Forest Management Certificate for well managed forest. The certification decision was taken in June and the certificate presented at a ceremonial event, which took place on September 13th, in Riga.

Certified area in the Baltic Countries increased more than 10 times

Public announcement, Latvia, Riga 13th of September, 2001

For immediate release

SmartWood has awarded the Riga City forest under Riga City Council the Forest Stewardship Council’s FSC Forest Management Certificate for well managed forest. The certification decision was taken in June and the certificate presented at a ceremonial event, which took place on September 13th, in Riga.

SmartWood has awarded the Riga City forest under Riga City Council the Forest Stewardship Council’s FSC Forest Management Certificate for well managed forest. The certification decision was taken in June and the certificate presented at a ceremonial event, which took place on September 13th, in Riga.

Today, Gundars Bojars, Major of Riga City, the capital of Latvia received the Forest Stewardship Council certificate for well-managed forest from SmartWood. Riga City Forest under the Riga City Council is responsible for the management of 55.000 hectares of forest in the surroundings of Riga.

"By SmartWood’s decision in June to award the FSC forest management certificate to Riga City Forest, the forest area proven to be well managed in the Baltic countries has increased more than ten times", said Peter Feilberg, Chief SmartWood Coordinator in the Baltic Countries. "The city of Riga has chosen the gold standards for forest management – the only globally recognized certification system and the only standards broadly supported by all major green organisations and trade unions as well as the biggest players on the international timber market"

"Economic activities are not the most important issue for Riga City Forest. The forest shall be managed outdoor activities and environmental education of the citizens of Riga", said Mayor Gundars Bojars at the ceremony. "We will continue to work with FSC and fulfil the requirement in the future. Riga City Forest has the full support from the Council."

A team of five Latvian and international experts have evaluated the performance of Riga City Forest, and concluded that the management fulfilled the requirement of FSC. The team was especially impressed with Riga City Forest approach to integrating commercial forest management with considerations to biodiversity conservation and social and recreational issues. The management plans were of high quality and the staff was well trained to manage the multiple use of the forest. Another SmartWood/FSC certified company in Latvia – Forest Owner Consulting Centre (FOCC) – has assisted Riga Forest in preparing for certification. The SmartWood team found room for improvement concerning health and safety issues for the people carrying out the logging, usually conducted by external logging companies.

Riga City celebrates its 800 years anniversary this year and the first forests came under the management of Riga back in 1225. Scots Pine is the dominating species, but Norway spruce and Birch are common as well. Latvia's export of wooden products is goes to markets sensitive to certification, such as the UK, Germany and the US.

Public announcement, Riga 6th of April, 2001

For immediate release

SmartWood presented the first five SmartWood Chain-of-Custody certificates in Latvia at the International Forestry and Timber Processing Exhibition in Riga.

Public announcement, Riga 6th of April, 2001

For immediate release

SmartWood presented the first five SmartWood Chain-of-Custody certificates in Latvia at the International Forestry and Timber Processing Exhibition in Riga.

Jon Jickling, SmartWood Certification System Manager, presented the five certificates to representatives of the wood processing industries in Latvia at the certification seminar in connection with the Forestry and Timber Processing Exhibition in Riga. Today, the companies are already able to buy certified timber from small private forest owners included under the SmartWood FSC Group Certification Scheme managed by the Forest Owners Consulting Center in Latvia.

"I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate the Forest Owners Consulting Center for facilitating this certification and thereby ensuring a market for certified timber from private forest owners”, Jon Jickling said at the presentation. “SmartWood aims at providing access to certification for all sizes of forest properties and this case in Latvia shows how owners of small forest properties and the wood processing industry can work together to mutual benefit. FSC certification will help to ensure sustainable forest management practices for private forest owners in Latvia”.

“The SmartWood FSC certification will provide us with access to new markets”, said Janis Herbsts, President of CED Ltd, one of the certified sawmills. “Currently, only a limited amount of certified timber is available on the Latvian market and CED expects to pay a premium to forest owners who can provide certified wood”. In future, the supply of FSC-certified timber in Latvia is expected to increase.

Especially the UK market is very important for the Latvian wood processing industries. About 60 per cent of the Latvian timber export is sold at the UK market.

The five certified operations are:

“CED” Ltd, Phone: +371 41 23694, Fax: +371 41 27198, Email: ced@apollo.lv, Products: sawn and machined wood. Registration code: SW-COC-480

Company “Rona”, Phone: +371 7287 745, Fax: +371 7217 152, Email: rona@sava.lv, Products: sawn and machined wood. Registration code: SW-COC-479

"Vudlande" Ltd, Phone: +37 1 477 8426, Fax: +37 1 936 1169, Email: vudlande@apollo.lv, Products: sawn wood. Registration code: SW-COC-481

“4 Plus” Ltd (Valmiera), Phone: +371 4281 488, Fax: +371 4281 477, Email: druvis.paeglis@valm.lv, Products: logs. Registration code: SW-COC-477

“4 Plus” Ltd (Aluksne), Phone; +371 9 276884, Fax: 371 43 23058, Email: askolds@apollo.lv, Products: sawn timber. Registration code: SW-COC-478

First Integrated FSC and ISO assessment deemed a success

Richmond, Vermont -- The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Management certification for a well-managed forest to the Estonian State Forest Management Center

First Integrated FSC and ISO assessment deemed a success

Richmond, Vermont -- The SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance has granted a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Forest Management certification for a well-managed forest to the Estonian State Forest Management Center (RMK, http://www.rmk.ee ) making this the first joint International Organization for Standardization (ISO)14001 and SmartWood /FSC Forest Management assessment that has been carried out. As a result of this certification, Estonia now claims one of the largest areas of certified forest in Eastern Europe, behind Poland's 3.8 million hectares (9.4 million acres). All three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - have committed to FSC certification of their state forests, and several privately owned forests in these countries have already been certified.

"Our national and international clients have an expectation that Estonian forests are managed sustainably and we must satisfy our clients. We chose FSC certification because FSC has a very good reputation and makes it easy for us to credibly communicate to our clients that we are managing our forests well" said Andreas Onemar, Director General of RMK. The Center manages 38% of the country's forests located in 74 forest districts throughout Estonia. State land comprises 1,063,000 hectares (2.6 million acres), of which 118,000 hectares (292,000 acres) are strictly protected forest, and 142,000 hectares (351,000 acres) are under special management to ensure protection of special biological and cultural features.

This certification is a result of three years work by RMK on implementing an environmental management system that meets the standards set by ISO, Estonian Forest Certification Working Group, SmartWood and the FSC. The ISO 14001 Environmental Management System portion of the assessment was conducted in cooperation with the Bureau Veritas Quality International (BVQI). ISO is made up of national standards institutes from countries large and small, industrialized and developing, in all regions of the world and develops voluntary technical standards for business operations.

"The combined FSC and ISO certification was the best thing the State Forest Management Center could do to ensure the long-term vitality of the Estonian timber industry," said Toomas Trapido, Director of Estonian Fund for Nature. "At the same time it's only the beginning. There is still a long way to go towards the relationship between people and forests that is useful for all parties concerned. Estonian State Forest Management Center has taken the first step towards this direction and for that they should be praised."

Only four years ago unsustainable pressures on Estonia's forests led the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) to label Estonian forests as threatened by industrial processes and political instability. National timber harvests increased 173% between 1996 and 2001, with the forest products industry accounting for 19% of 2001 reported exports by value. The decision to certify Estonia's state forests acknowledges their efforts to strike a delicate balance between the environmental, social and economic needs of their country. The land area managed by RMK includes most of Estonia's strictly protected forest areas, such as national parks, nature reserves and other protected sites. Additionally, Estonian wildlife is among the richest in Europe, and several species, which are extinct in most other European countries, still have viable populations in Estonia, including bear, wolf, lynx, wild boar and elk. Several endangered bird species also have viable populations in Estonia - e.g. osprey and black stork. Thanks in part to government initiated programs to ensure protection of biologically valuable forest areas, and now with FSC certification, the threats to survival of endangered species in the state forests are not as high as in other forests of Estonia.

"The FSC certification process in the Baltic region is probably one of the fastest moving in the world at the moment. SmartWood started certifying wood processing companies in the Baltics less than a year ago, and now we are in the process of certifying about 20 more companies", says Kristjan Tõnisson, the Excecutive Director of NEPCon Estonia, and SmartWood's Certification Partner in the region. "Private forest owners organized under the Estonian Forest Owners' Consulting Center are currently under assessment and several other private forest owners have expressed their interest in getting FSC certified." Mr. Tõnisson expects that a number of Estonian companies will start producing FSC certified products, thus taking advantage of the large volume of FSC certified wood becoming available on the Estonian market. This wood has a ready market since 40% of Estonia's sawn wood exports go to the UK and other important demand centres across Europe such as Germany, Sweden, Finland and Northern Africa.