Joint statement (on the situation with IKEA / Swedwood Karelia), December 07, 2012
Protect the Forest, Sweden
Karelia Regional Nature Conservancy SPOK
Greenpeace Russia
Friends of the Earth Sweden
Background and primary issues:
1. Leasing of old-growth forests in Karelia
A large part of the forests in the north-west of the Republic of Karelia consists of old-growth forests with high natural values. This also applies to the forests leased by Swedwood Karelia. Ikea?s first mistake was to establish themselves in an area with large amounts of primary and old-growth forests.
2. Logging of HCVF in Karelia
Investigations made by environmental organizations during the past few years show that Swedwood Karelia is logging and buying wood from High Conservation Value Forests, i.e. primeval and old-growth forests and landscapes.
- Swedwood Karelia has logged and bought wood from forests identified as Intact Forest Tracts (IFT) in a recent GAP-analysis made by authorities, scientists and NGOs in Russia and Finland.
- Swedwood Karelia has logged and bought wood from forests in globally important HCVF-areas, defined as Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL).
3. Loss of biodiversity
Old-growth forest destruction is one of the main causes of global biodiversity loss, threatening the life-supporting ecological functions that among many other things provide us with food, freshwater, air quality and climate regulation. Old-growth forests are habitats for a wide variety of demanding and threatened species that will not survive in managed forests. Wood sourcing from primeval and old-growth forests is per definition unsustainable. This kind of forestry can be compared to mining, since old-growth forest logging is a one-time extraction of virtually non-regenerable biological resources. Timber production is an ecosystem service, dependent on viable ecosystems and a high level of biodiversity.
4. Logging volumes and annual allowable cuts
Annual allowable cut and actual logged volumes should not lead to decline of forest resources in general and outside of HCVF for the whole length of the consession period.
5. Global responsibility PtF
As one of the world’s biggest consumers of wood, Ikea has a great global responsibility to achieve sustainability. This statement only goes into specifics regarding Karelia, but the same general critique and demands apply globally to all activities by Ikea’s subsidiaries and subcontractors. Other companies that declare sustainability should act in the same way.
Our demands for IKEA
(Others, who declare sustainable use of Karelian forests, should act in the same way):
1. Stop logging in planned protected areas and identified high conservation value forest, and purchasing wood from there, until sufficient permanent conservation measures have been defined and ensured for these areas and forests.
The two most important sources of information about these areas are:
a) Master plan for Karelia Republic ("Scheme of territorial planning", established by decision of Karelian government # 102 of July 6, 2007, and amended by decision of Karelian government # 89 of March 22, 2012):
b) Mapping High Conservation Value Areas in the Russian North-West. Gap-analysis of the Protected Areas Network in Murmansk, Leningrad, Arkhangelsk, Vologda regions, Republic of Karelia, and the city of Saint-Petersburg. Saint-Petersburg 2011.
Ikea should perform thorough inventories on their leased area to identify HCVF outside of these two mentioned areas, and make sure that also these HCVF are protected. Ikea should address any new information about HCVF inside and outside their consession area.
2. Present detailed maps of HCVF and voluntary conservation areas before 01.04.13
Ikea/Swedwood should during the next months (before 2013-04-01) prepare a detailed map of HCVF in their leased area (taking into account above mentioned publications and, additionally, own inventory of HCVF), and start discussions with main stakeholders and Karelian government on how they will protect it.
Clear and comprehensible maps of voluntary conservation areas (including exact borders of these areas) should be made public also before 2013-04-01. The maps should also clearly state what areas are voluntarily protected, and which are required by law.
3. Accept and start to implement effective plan of moving wood supply areas from old-growth forests and areas with high concentration of conservation values to secondary forests
Large areas of secondary forests are available in Karelia and all of Russia. Ikea/Swedwood should move all their wood sourcing in Russia to such areas. Ikea/Swedwood should already during 2013 start this process, based on agreements with the Karelian and Russian Government. Ikea/Swedwood must ensure protection of HCVF in their consession areas. HCVF in Ikea/Swedwood consession areas should either be left in the concession and be protected, or if the company decides to leave HCVF areas, they should secure permanent legal protection for those areas.
4. Public announcements
1) Before 01.04.2013 IKEA/Swedwood Karelia should publically announce that they strongly support the modern planned protected areas system in Karelia, in above mentioned version of “Master plan for Karelia Republic”, and will not start new logging or buy wood from logging, that can affect these areas, or violate the paragraph 1 of these demands.
2) Since IKEA/Swedwood Karelia has publicly announced additional conservation measures, like not logging old-growth forests, these measures have to be implemented immediately. Otherwise Ikea/Swedwood Karelia should publicly announce that these measures are not implemented in practice, and explain why not.
5. Implement sustainable forestry methods
Our investigations show that Swedwood Karelia is using one single harvesting method; clear-cut forestry (with retention trees). We urge Ikea/Swedwood Karelia to start using more sustainable methods, like nature-oriented selective forestry outside HCVF.
Stockholm
2012-12-07
Alexey Yaroshenko
Head of the forest programme
Greenpeace Russia
Alexander Markovsky
Director
SPOK
Viktor S?fve
Chairperson
Protect the Forest, Sweden
Klas Ancker
Forest department
Friends of the Earth Sweden