A joint statement released by the groups commits the Finnish forest industry to further development of existing wood tracing systems to better identify and exclude illegal timber, as well as improve transparency. WWF and FFIF will also establish a working group to further improve tracing systems.
In addition, WWF and FFIF want to encourage other forest sector players to join the development work and share lessons learned in the use of tools which promote legal wood procurement. They are also urging governments to keep illegal logging as a focus area.
“Non-governmental organisations and industry can contribute in combating illegal logging by raising awareness among different stakeholders and through stakeholder dialogue,” said FFIF president Anne Brunila.
The joint statement recognises that trustworthy information and appropriate methods are needed to fight illegal logging in Russia, which exports significant levels of timber to Finland. Unknown origin wood from Russia is estimated to make up anywhere from 0.6%-27% of the wood exports.
WWF said it recognised the Finnish forest industry’s work to combat illegal logging in Russia and that tracking systems in operation were among the most efficient available. But it said the systems were not sufficient to exclude all forest sector illegalities.
