Pandering to the loggers

Time is running out to protect the world’s forests. Half have already been destroyed and just 20 per cent of what remains is intact.

Each year an area of forest almost twice the size of Ireland completely disappears, while much larger areas are subjected to logging, leaving them vulnerable to further destruction.

Protecting the world’s remaining intact forest, and transforming how vulnerable forests are managed, is crucial to sustaining the livelihoods of forest dependent people, preserving biodiversity and preventing further increases in forest carbon emissions.

WWF’s flagship scheme to promote sustainable timber – the Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) – is allowing companies to reap the benefits of association with WWF and its iconic panda brand, while they continue to destroy forests and trade in illegally sourced timber, a new briefing by Global Witness reveals.

While GFTN is intended to reduce and eliminate such practices over the first 5 years of membership, systemic failures blight the scheme’s ability to deliver for forests.

This report, titled Pandering to the Loggers, outlines the main problems and proposes recommendations.