‘Living wage’ could be part of forest certification

THE NEED TO PAY WORKERS A LIVING WAGE MAY BECOME A requirement for forest owners wanting to certify their plantations with organisations like FSC and PEFC in the future.

Dr Sally Strang, Environmental Manager for Hancock Forest Management in New Zealand, says FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) is already considering such a move, as social issues gain increased importance.

She told the New Zealand Institute of Forestry annual conference in Rotorua that FSC has already drawn up a draft standard that says “the Organisation (ie the forest owner applying for certification) commits to paying a living wage to full time and fully trained workers directly employed within the MU and where work is contracted the living wage is factored into contract rates”.

Dr Strang says the living wage topic is part of ongoing reviews of both the FSC and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) standards relating to numerous areas, including the use of pesticides, genetic modification and environmental standards, as well as social issues.

Another proposed measure being looked at by FSC would preclude highly erosion-prone land from being planted in forests for clearfelling purposes. For replanting of forests after harvesting on erosionprone land it would recommend a scientifically rigorous programme of erosion monitoring over the full rotation be undertaken to determine the effects.

Currently there are 1.24 million hectares of plantations under FSC certification, following its introduction to New Zealand in 2000, whilst the relatively new PEFC scheme has 416,000 hectares under certification here. All are larger forests and Dr Strang believes there is an opportunity for smaller forests to enter the schemes, but they will need to take into account affordability.

NZL