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| Taking action for forests |
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See also: Why we need our forests
Lobbying government
Forests for Life Campaign - Protected Areas target
Through WWF's Forests for Life Campaign, 22 governments have agreed to implement its protected areas target. WWF-UK is working in Colombia, Mexico, Nepal and Tanzania to achieve these goals.
Under WWF's Gifts to the Earth initiative, a number of governments have made significant pledges for conservation. Since the Forests for Life Campaign was launched, more than 22 million hectares of forests have been protected through the Gifts to the Earth scheme.
WWF-UK, through its work with the British government and the Forestry Commission, has played a leading role in developing the UK Woodland Assurance Scheme. This has resulted in more than 800,000 hectares of state forest being managed to FSC standards - an achievement for which the Forest Enterprise and Forest Authority were given a WWF award.
For more information visit www.panda.org/forests4life
Addressing illegal logging
WWF-UK has played a key role in bringing about the introduction of measures in the UK and EU that aim to address illegal logging and the trade in illegal timber.
WWF believes the UK government has made some steps in the right direction in recent years. In 2000, WWF welcomed the government's announcement to introduce a timber procurement policy that would ensure the UK would purchase timber from "legal and sustainable" sources. We are naturally disappointed that progress made in implementing this policy effectively has been unacceptably slow.
WWF-UK will continue its efforts to make sure that the government fully implements an effective timber procurement policy which responds to the growing threat the illegal timber trade poses. WWF meets ministers regularly to express the concerns we share with our supporters and we are members of the government's Forest Partnership for Action Group (FPAG), set up to promote sustainable development in the forests sector in the UK and internationally.
To find out more visit the illegal logging section of the Policy page.
Local authorities
Responsible procurement
WWF-UK has been working with local authorities since 1997 to promote and support the adoption and effective implementation of responsible purchasing policies for forest products. WWF supports policies that give preference to timber/paper products from credible independently certified well-managed forests. WWF also advocates the use of recycled (post consumer waste) or FSC-certified paper, as well as double-sided printing, to save forest resources.
WWF produces guidance for local authorities on developing and implementing a "responsible purchasing" approach, including a model policy on timber procurement for adoption. Download WWF Responsible Timber Policy Guidance for Local Authorities as a PDF file.
A regular newsletter is available for local authority officers and others additionally. Download the winter 2004 edition of our Local-Global Forest Footprints newsletter as a PDF file.
In order to receive this newsletter and related communication electronically in the future, to stay abreast of new developments and share best practice in this area, please register by visiting: www.wwf.org.uk/forestregister
Business and industry
Forest and Trade Networks
(Formerly the WWF 95+Group)
The mission of the WWF-UK Forest & Trade Network (FTN) is to improve the management of the world's production forests by using the purchasing power of UK businesses.
The WWF-UK FTN was founded as the WWF 1995 Group, with 20 member companies, in 1991. Its members' vision was to ensure that their timber and paper supplies came from well managed forests, and did not contribute to forest destruction and illegal logging practices.
Since its launch, the WWF-UK FTN has become widely recognised as a successful partnership between WWF and business - a partnership that promotes and progresses responsible management of the world's forests. The WWF-UK FTN currently has 57 members.
Members of the WWF-UK FTN have committed themselves to tracing their timber and paper products back to the forest source. The aim of the WWF-UK FTN is to provide a framework for members to adopt a stepwise, monitored approach that enables them to identify and move away from materials coming from unknown or unacceptable sources, towards products from credibly certified forests.
For more information:
WWF and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
WWF played a leading role in establishing the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which lays down strict international standards for forest management, and supports its standards and governance structure.
The FSC supports environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. Its main activities are to accredit organisations that certify the quality of forest management. Forest products derived from certified forests are allowed to carry the FSC trademark.
WWF believes that forest management should meet or exceed the criteria laid down by the FSC. WWF and the FSC have the common goal of promoting good forest management practice and ensuring that it is environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable.
More than 43 million hectares of forests - almost twice the size of the UK - now have FSC certification.
For more information on the FSC visit its websites:
FSC-UK: www.fsc-uk.info
FSC-International: www.fsc.org
For more information on certification visit:
WWF International's - What is forest certification? section
Asia Pulp and Paper (APP)
WWF-UK is taking action against UK companies that buy paper products from APP.
To find out more visit the Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) section of the Policy page.
UK Woodland Assurance Standard
The UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) is a voluntary scheme for the independent certification of forest management in the UK. Launched in June 1999, the standard has been developed by a broad partnership of forestry, environmental and social organisations in response to increasing demand for products from certified forests. Woodland owners achieve certification against UKWAS by engaging a certification body to audit their forest management policies and practices against the requirements of the standard.
The UKWAS is managed by a steering group comprising representatives of all sectors and interested parties. WWF is a member of the group in two of the 11 categories - environmental organisations (through the Wildlife and Countryside Link) and the wood products trade (through WWF-UK FTN).
In the UK nearly one million hectares of forests and woodland - out of a total of 2.5 million - have been certified against the UKWAS standard. Given the interest being shown in the scheme, that figure will increase, with the prospect that within five years 80 per cent of the UK's timber harvest will come from certified forests.
Public
Good Wood: Your guide to avoiding illegal timber
Good Wood is a practical and comprehensive WWF online guide on how to buy, sell and trade timber responsibly. Step by step, it shows how consumers, traders, retailers, forest managers, governments and financial institutions can help stop the trade in illegal logging. Uncover the solutions and practical steps you can take to avoid bad wood, and choose good wood.
For more information visit:
www.panda.org/forests/goodwood
Tropical Wood - A Guide for buyers, advertisers, salespersons and customers
A WWF guide designed to assist all those who have to make decisions regarding tropical wood products, such as garden furniture or other furniture or building and interior decoration materials. Practical information on FSC certification forms the core of the guide.
Download Tropical Wood - A Guide for buyers, advertisers, salespersons and customers as a PDF file.
One Million Sustainable Homes
One Million Sustainable Homes (OMSH)
Up to 85 per cent of all timber consumed in the UK goes into the construction industry, and much of this wood comes from forests around the world that are not managed in a responsible way. And housing currently contributes around 27 per cent of total carbon dioxide emissions - the principal cause of climate change.
WWF's One Million Sustainable Homes campaign aims to tackle the harmful effect that our houses have on the environment. The goal is to provide people with the choice of living in a home that is healthier, safer and cheaper for them and the environment.
WWF is working with the UK government, industry and consumers to ensure that one million sustainable homes are developed across the UK by 2012.
For more information visit:
www.wwf.org.uk/sustainablehomes
Field projects
Mexico's forest programme
WWF-UK's Mexico Forests Programme aims to reduce the loss of forest resources, increase the area of protected forests, promote sustainable forest management and improve the livelihoods of people who depend on forests in Mexico.
For more information visit the Mexico's forest programme page
LIFE Project in Wye Valley
A £1.3 million programme coordinated by WWF-UK to conserve more than 800 hectares of the UK's most important native woodland habitats in the Wye Valley was launched in May 2004.
The project is a partnership between WWF-UK, Countryside Council for Wales, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, English Nature, Forestry Commission, the National Trust, Woodland Trust, Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and is part-funded by the European Commission's LIFE-Nature programme.
Over three years, £1.3 million will be targeted at ensuring the conservation of 882 hectares of ravine woodland in the Wye Valley, and 2,085 hectares in the Peak District. The Lower Wye Valley's high-quality native woodlands, including ash woods, have been identified as some of the best examples of ravine woodlands in Europe. Designated a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU Habitats Directive, they also form part of a Europe-wide network of high-quality conservation sites called Natura 2000.
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WWF-UK > Research > Issues > Forests > WWF in action
