Barama sub-contracting should be validated by regulatory bodies -World Wildlife Fund

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56524457

Barama sub-contracting should be validated by regulatory bodies -World
Wildlife Fund
Stabroek News
Friday, July 13th 2007

The World Wildlife Fund - Guianas says that the legality of
sub-leasing/contracting practices by Barama Company Limited (BCL), and
any other party, from independent concession holders or from Amerindian
titled lands should be validated by the regulatory agencies.

Entering the fray on a controversial issue, the WWF also reiterated its
call on BCL to conform to the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC)
rigorous environmental, social and economic standards through a
distinct, time-bound action plan, with periodic public disclosure,
which will implement combined recommendations of both the SGS-Qualifor
and FSC/Accreditation Services International (ASI) assessment reports.

"Substantiated irregularities should be investigated and pursued
through due process," the WWF said, noting the statements by the
Commissioner of Forests James Singh in a recent Stabroek News article
on the subject that BCL's Timber Sales Agreement allows it to enter
into contractual arrangements with smaller logging companies to supply
logs to BCL's mill.

Janette Bulkan, a forest researcher, presented a paper along with John
Palmer entitled 'Lazy days at international banks: how Credit Suisse
and HSBC support illegal logging and unsustainable timber harvesting by
Samling/Barama in Guyana, and possible reforms' to an international
meeting.

In the paper the two make a number of allegations against the company,
stemming from alleged illegal landlording and lack of transparency to
breaches of investment incentive arrangements.

The WWF said that it agrees with the general recommendations in the
paper for greater transparency, public disclosure, and verification of
performance and accountability mechanisms. The statement said that this
applies to the four main subjects of the paper: Credit Suisse, HSBC,
BCL and its parent company Samling Global Limited.

Earlier this year BCL had its FSC certificate suspended following an
audit in November 2006. The company is said to be on track with taking
corrective actions to have its certification restored.

The WWF said that many of the issues raised in the Bulkan/Palmer report
are complex and interlinked, particularly those pertaining to the
interpretation of Guyanese law, the philosophy of responsible forest
management and the FSC certification process.

The statement said that WWF believes that the legitimacy of the Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) agreement should be validated by the
authorising agencies in Guyana such as Go Invest. This should include
public disclosure of the terms and conditions while ensuring
confidentiality of commercially sensitive and proprietary information.

The WWF said that a comparison of the FDI agreement and today's
regulatory requirements, as well as those in force at the time it was
negotiated, would be informative. "Performance of BCL under the terms
of the FDI agreement should be publicly disclosed by the regulatory
agencies responsible for monitoring compliance," the release said. Very
little information has been provided over the years about BCL's
performance.

According to the release, questions regarding the appropriateness of
harvesting rates from a timber production point of view would be
greatly facilitated if credible baseline data was established. "Debates
over legal limits versus actual harvesting rates on a volume basis are
very sensitive to assumptions over rotation lengths and difficult to
assess in the absence of credible baseline data," the WWF said.

It said that in the absence of a credible baseline, the GFC should
explore alternative methods for determining harvesting rates until a
credible baseline can be compiled to determine appropriate harvest
rates, by volume or species, for the forest type being managed.

The release said that WWF supports the open debate of concerns and
views concerning the BCL operation in particular and the Guyanese
forestry sector in general. "However, WWF believes that the sheer
volume of unsubstantiated allegations and accusatory inferences in the
above-mentioned report oversimplify the complexity of the issues raised
and discredit the equally valid but differing views on the issues," the
release said. "WWF believes that these issues can only be resolved if
all relevant stakeholders converse based upon facts in a civil and
transparent manner in the common interest of the country."

WWF reiterated its support for the certification process under the FSC
framework as a mechanism to address these issues in an open and
transparent manner, with input from all relevant stakeholders. It said
that it recognised that the current escalated controversy is rooted in
the inadequate legal and institutional framework, insufficient data and
lack of capacity evident to date within the Government, private sector
and civil society.

"Given this reality, WWF expects the utmost in due-diligence by the
FSC-accredited certification bodies, as well as the oversight by FSC's
accreditation body, Accreditation Services International (ASI),
regarding all aspects of the certification process in Guyana," the WWF
said.

WWF said it categorically denies allegations of undue interference with
the decision to suspend BCL's certificate and lack of due process in
WWF's role in the certification process in Guyana. "WWF has no material
interest with any of the direct parties in this debate. Our sole
interest is to support responsible forest management in Guyana and the
viability of certification as a tool" to help conserve forests.