In the evidence given by Defra on 16 March 2005 to
the Environmental Audit Committee, specific reference was made
to the Environment Agency. Mr Andrew stated:
If the Environment Agency want to buy "Greenheart"
to do coastal protection or river protection or something like
that because that is the only species that they have identified
where there will be sufficient, it is quite difficult to get that
timber certified as sustainable. It may even be difficult to get
it with evidence of legality but that is a minimum requirement
so we have to assume that our suppliers are able to comply with
that.
We would like to assure the Committee that the
Environment Agency recognises the challenges associated with purchasing
tropical hardwoods. We have put controls in place to ensure that
the wood we buy is legal and from a sustainably managed source.
Hardwood timber is only used by the Environment Agency in marine
and fluvial construction where there is currently no proven alternative.
All softwood timber we procure is certified to Forestry Stewardship
Council (FSC) or equivalent standard and is relatively easy to
manage.
The purchase of Greenheart referred to by Mr
Andrew relates to the Pett Project, a large sea defence scheme
that is currently being constructed on the south coast of England.
The Environment Agency's Flood Defence construction team and it's
consultant (Halcrow) determined hardwood timber as the most appropriate
material for the new beach groynes. We established a team to audit
the supply chain of the preferred source of timber (Greenheart
from Guyana). Two Environment Agency staff with specialist expertise
in this area were sent to Guyana to undertake a supply chain audit.
The aim of the supply chain audit was to verify
that the timber supplied was legally exported and from a sustainably
managed source. Additionally the Environment Agency had to be
sure that the whole supply chain could withstand scrutiny.
The main administrative bodies that are involved
in the legal management of forestry concessions and the development
of the policies for forestry in Guyana are the Guyana Forestry
Commission and the Guyana Environmental Protection Agency, both
of whom were visited and consulted as part of this audit, as well
as the WWF, the Minister of Forestry and the Prime Minister of
Guyana.
The Guyana Forestry Commission have a number
of processes that monitor the legality of the timber and the forest
management practices. This includes a Code of Practice for Timber
harvesting which applies to all logging operations. The Forestry
Commission run a tagging system and the timber company must keep
a record of which tag numbers were extracted from where on a given
date. To remove logs/timber from the sawmill, a Permit to Remove
Forest Produce must be issued by the Forestry Officers. This lists
the species, the volume and the tag numbers and a copy of the
permit must be carried with each load. There are two 24 hour security
stations which monitor the transport of timber along the roads
and this checks for the Permit to Remove Forest Produce, as detailed
above.
For any new concession to be granted a full
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and a Social Impact Assessment
(SIA) has to be carried out. This is undertaken by the Guyanan
Environmental Protection Agency either by their own staff or by
approved consultants, both national and international. For those
concessions that are currently in existence and were allocated
before the inception of the Environmental Protection Agency, there
is currently a programme in place to carry out the EIAs and SIAs
retrospectively.
Guyana are currently developing a national standard
that is based on the on the Forest Stewardship Council Principles
and Criteria. The Guyana National Initiative for Forestry Certification,
an NGO was formed and are looking towards becoming a Forestry
Stewardship Council accredited body in their own right.
From the audit we undertook, the Environment
Agency is satisfied that the Greenheart timber sourced from Guyana
fulfils UK Government policy and has been legally logged and traded.
With regards to the sustainability of the timber, this is an area
of concern for all tropical hardwoods. The supplier has a detailed
Five Year Management Plan and Annual Plan in place that is monitored
by the Guyanan Forestry Commission.
Our audit was carried out against the standards
for sustainable forestry management and although there are recommendations
and improvements to be made in some areas, in particular relationships
with the local community we believe the timber is legal and are
from a source where sustainable forestry management is practiced.
We believe that the approach we have taken to
this procurement exercise demonstrates our commitment to sustainable
procurement.
Dr Paul Leinster
Director of Operations
24 March 2005
