ALERT UPDATE RAN Gets Grumpy as Concerns Regarding Their Ancient Forest Greenwashing Crash the Party
Point by point rebuttal of RAN's response to our global Earth Action Network's protest targeting their support for FSC's ancient forest destruction of millions of hectares of primary forests -- mostly rainforests By Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet http://www.ecologicalinternet.org/ September 27, 2008 Please continue taking action to stop RAN and FSC's Ancient Forest Destruction at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2008/09/alert_as_rainforest_action_net.asp **Points beginning with > are RAN's comments to our protest which targeted their corporate sponsors for their Revel awards ceremony and fund-raiser. Ecological Internet's response is in capitals. > Recently one of our old NGO allies, Ecological Internet, the parent organization of Rainforest Portal, has directly contacted a number of our supporters and allies. Our organizations have a strategic difference of opinion, and Ecological Internet has recently decided to divert the attention of the environmental movement away from protecting forests and towards attacking RAN and other NGOs. This note is to offer our side of the issue and request your patience with any inconvenience caused by Ecological Internets internet campaign. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. ECOLOGICAL INTERNET CARRIES OUT A WIDE ARRAY OF PROTESTS REGARDING CLIMATE AND FORESTS -- ALL BASED UPON THE LATEST ECOLOGICAL SCIENCE AND WHAT IS KNOWN REGARDING REQUIREMENTS FOR GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY. WHEN EI HAS TWO STAFF PERSONS, AND RAN NEARLY TWO DOZON, WE HARDLY FEEL THAT SEVERAL HUNDRED EMAILS CONSTITUTING A PROTEST SHOULD HAVE AGGRIEVED RAN QUITE SO DEEPLY. THIS IS THE 3RD PROTEST TARGETING RAN IN THE PAST YEAR, AND WE HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A DETAILED RESPONSE TO THE CORE CONCERNS REGARDING FSC. YOU WILL FIND NOTHING IN THEIR MOST RECENT RESPONSE WHICH DEFENDS THEIR NOTION THAT CUTTING ANCIENT FORESTS WITH FSC CERTIFICATION SOMEHOW PROTECTS THEM. ONLY THE SUGGESTION THEY HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED AND SUBTLE VILLIFICAITON OF THE MESSENGER. A FULL LIST OF OUR RECENT CAMPAIGNS, THE ONLY ONE WHICH TARGETS NGOS BEING THIS FSC CAMPAIGN, CAN BE FOUND AT: http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/ TO SUGGEST THAT ECOLOGICAL INTERNET DOES NOT TARGET GOVERNMENTS AND COMPANIES IS RIDICULOUS. NOTE, THAT WHILE ECOLOGICAL INTERNET PROVIDES THE WEB SITE AND TEMPLATE, TO DATE 764 PEOPLE FROM 42 COUNTRIES HAVE PARTICIPATED. THESE PARTICIPANTS ARE REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL CONCERNS, AND SHOULD NOT BE SO EASILY DISCARDED BECAUSE IT WRECKS RAN'S REVEL. > Does RAN support ancient forest logging? > - No, RAN absolutely does not support logging ancient forests. Our Old Growth Campaign works to protect ancient forests and defend the rights of their inhabitants. HMM RAN IS A MEMBER AND VOCAL SUPPORTER OF FSC WHICH HAS CERTIFIED AS ENVIRONMENTALLY ACCEPTABLE THE FIRST TIME LOGGING OF HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF HECTARES OF PRIMARY FORESTS -- MOSTLY RAINFORESTS. BY DEFINITION, ONCE LOGGED PRIMARY FORESTS ARE DESTROYED. THEY WILL NEVER AGAIN HAVE FULLY INTACT FUNCTION, STRUCTURE OR COMPOSITION -- IN EFFECT THEY ARE TO BECOME TREE PLANTATIONS. AT LEAST 60% OF FSC TIMBER COMES FROM SUCH FIRST TIME LOGGING OF ANCIENT FORESTS. UNTIL RECENTLY, RAN INACCURATELY CHARACTERIZED FSC AS BEING "SUSTAINABLE" ON THEIR WEB SITE, ILLUSTRATING THEIR LACK OF ECOLOGICAL KNOW- HOW. RAN MOST DEFINITELY SUPPORTS LOGGING OF ANCIENT FORESTS, BECAUSE THEY SUPPORT FSC WHICH PROVIDES THE "CERTIFICATE" SAYING IT IS OKAY, AND VALIDATES A HUGE INDUSTRY THAT CUTS ANCIENT FORESTS TO MAKE YOUR YARD FURNITURE. THEIR DENIAL IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. RAN, HOW DOES FSC PROTECT ANCIENT FORESTS? IT DOESN'T, IT GREENWASHES THEIR LOGGING. > Did RAN cut a deal with the Ontario provincial government? > - No, RAN did not negotiate with the Ontario government. We wrote a letter and issued a press release welcoming a recent commitment by the Province to protect 56 million acres of Ontarios northern boreal forest, about half of the unallocated land base, and an area half of the size of the State of California, while urging conservation-based planning and respect for Indigenous rights. There was no deal with RAN in the Provincial Premiers commitment. NEVER IN THE ALERT OR ELSEWHERE IS THERE ANY STATEMENT RAN "CUT A DEAL" OR NEGOTIATED WITH THE ONTARIO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT (THEY DID IN CANADA'S GREAT BEAR WILDERNESS THOUGH). THE POINT IS RAN CONTINUALLY PROVIDES ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICAL COVER BY PUBLICLY SUPPORTING FOREST DEALS THAT PROMISE LIMITED, UNSPECIFIED PROTECTIONS DOWN THE ROAD WHILE CONTINUING THE DESTRUCTION TODAY. THE DEAL IN QUESTION SAID THERE MIGHT BE SOME PROTECTIONS IN 15 YEARS TIME IN HALF OF ONTARIO'S FORESTS, IF THE OTHER HALF WAS GIVEN OVER TO INDUSTRIAL DESTRUCTION RIGHT NOW. ON RAN'S BLOG AT: http://understory.ran.org/2008/07/29/the-biggest-environmental-victory-you%E2%80%99ve-never-heard-about/ RAN'S EXCUTIVE DIRECTOR TOOK CREDIT FOR THE DEAL, CALLING IT "The Biggest Environmental Victory Youve Never Heard About". THIS IS MORE OF RAN'S HAND-WAVING TO DISCREDIT ECOLOGICAL INTERNET RATHER THAN SUBSTANTIVELY RESPONDING TO WHY THEY SUPPORT FSC, AND HOW THIS SUPPORT FOR ANCIENT FOREST LOGGING PROTECTS FORESTS. > - Herein lies a strategic difference between RAN and Ecological Internet the glass is both half full and half empty. RAN believes that we should celebrate the protection of 56 million acres and the increase in rights of consent for the boreal forests Indigenous peoples. And at the same time, we encourage all of our supporters to join Ecological Internet, RAN and others to hold the government of Ontario accountable to this commitment, and to campaign for further wilderness protection in Ontario and beyond. A CAREFUL READ OF THE ECOLOGICAL SCIENCE INDICATES THAT HUMANITY HAS ALREADY OVERSHOT THE AMOUNT OF INTACT NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS THAT CAN BE LOST AND STILL MAINTAIN A HABITABLE EARTH. THE GLASS IS NEITHER HALF FULL OR EMPTY, IT IS BROKEN. CAMPAIGNING FOR ANYTHING LESS THAT WHAT IS NECESSARY -- FULL PROTECTION FOR THE EARTH'S REMAINING RELATIVELY NATURAL HABITATS -- IS INADEQUATE AND DANGEROUS GREENWASH. IT MAKES US FEEL GOOD, BRINGS IN THE FUNDS, TINKERS AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PROBLEM WITHOUT INSISTING ANYONE GIVE UP ANCIENT FOREST TIMBERS, BUT IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN BEING. RAN CARRIES OUT RIGOROUS CAMPAIGNS TO END THE USE OF COAL, BIOFUELS AND OIL SAND FUELS -- YET DOES NOT SUPPORT ENDING ANCIENT FOREST LOGGING. AFTER A YEAR OF PROTEST, PAGES OF EMAILS AND HOURS OF DISCUSSIONS, THEY HAVE NEVER PROVIDED ANY SUBSTANTIVE, DETAILED JUSTIFICATION FOR THEIR SUPPORT FOR FSC, AND HOW THIS CONTRIBUTES TO PROTECTING THE WORLD'S FORESTS AND ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY. > Does RAN support the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)? > - Yes, RAN recognizes FSC as the strongest independent environmental certification available for wood and paper products. At the same time, RAN has significant concerns about the FSC. In particular, weve been working to expose how new rules adopted by the program that we feel are lowering the bar on human rights and environmental protections. > - RAN was a founding member of the FSC. As such, we have the position to appeal, and when we encounter questionable certifications in the areas we work, we have lodged appeals, and they have succeeded. Most recently, our Japan office successfully convinced the FSC to remove ancient forest pulp from FSC certified papers in Japan. RAN agrees with Ecological Internets concerns over FSC certification of ancient forest logging. Our strategic disagreement with Ecological Internet is whether and how the FSC can be improved RAN has had success influencing the FSC from the inside, Ecological Internet is asking us renounce the FSC altogether. ENVIRONMENTALISTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE FLEEING FSC IN DROVES FOR THE REASONS GIVEN ABOVE AND IN THE ALERT. FRIENDS OF THE EARTH -- ANOTHER FSC FOUNDING MEMBER -- HAS WITHDRAWN, AND MANY EUROPEAN GROUPS ARE CONSIDERING DOING SO. FSC EXISTS ON THE PREMISE THAT CENTURIES OLD TREES IN MILLIONS OF YEAR OLD ECOSYTEMS CAN AND SHOULD BE LOGGED. THE BARBARIC PRACTICE OF CUTTING DOWN THE ECOSYSTEMS THAT MAKES THE EARTH HABITABLE -- LIKE SLAVERY BEFORE IT -- IS SIMPLY INDEFENSIBLE. THERE IS NO WAY TO REFORM LOGGING OF PRICELESS PRIMEVAL ECOSYSTEMS. FSC'S VERY PREMISE THAT PRIMARY FORESTS SHOULD BE CUT DOWN TO MAKE CONSUMER GOODS IS INDEFENSIBLE AND EVIL. STOPPING ONE BAD CERTIFICATION ON ONE OCCASION DOES NOT OBVIATE THE DAMAGE DONE BY FALSELY GIVING COMFORT TO CONSUMERS THAT THEIR OLD GROWTH PRODUCT HELPED THE ENVIRONMENT, WHEN IN FACT IT EXACERBATED THE GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CRISES. > - In the larger context of forest certification, it is also important to note that the logging industry is fighting to replace the FSC with its own weaker certification system, known as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, that would exclude groups like RAN that seek to protect endangered and ancient forests. RAN is a member of the Alliance for Credible Forest Certification calling market attention to these industry sponsored certification schemes. Without the FSC, we are concerned that these industry-based systems would quickly take over the marketplace. THUS THE NEED FOR THE MOVEMENT TO UNITE BEHIND A SIMPLE MESSAGE: "END ANCIENT FOREST LOGGING". HOW CAN YOU EXPECT CONSUMERS TO KNOW WHICH OF A HALF DOZEN CERTIFICATION SCHEMES IS BETTER? FOREST WATCH AT http://www.fsc-watch.org/ SHOWS FSC IS BUSINESS AS USUAL INDUSTRIAL FORESTRY THAT ROUTINELY VIOLATES ITS OWN PRINCIPLES AND TRAMPLES ON INDIGENOUS RIGHTS AND GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS. FSC HAS SHOWN ITSELF TO BE IRREDEEMABLE, NO ONE INCLUDING RAN HAS PROVIDED ANY EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY, AND AT SOME POINT YOU ADMIT YOU ARE WRONG AND TRY SOMETHING ELSE. > A record of RANs previous responses to criticism from Ecological Internet is available on the organizations website. At the time, we were hoping to agree on next steps, and the dialogue was broken off by Ecological Internet with a declaration that we were not operating in good faith. We believe that we can find common ground with allies, even when we disagree. Since our founding over 23 years ago, RAN has had strategic differences with a number of allies and organizations; the key is using each others strengths and weaknesses effectively, taking advantage of inside and outside campaign strategies, and airing our differences privately but working to present a common agenda publicly in the face of overwhelming corporate power and a mounting crisis for our forests and climate. RAN'S OLD-GROWTH CAMPAIGN SUPPORT FOR FSC THREATENS THE ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE EARTH. DURING OUR FIRST ROUND OF DISCUSSIONS, EVERY SORT OF DIVERSIONARY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS TACTIC WAS USED IN ORDER TO AVOID ANSWERING A SIMPLE QUESTION: "HOW DOES LOGGING A CENTURIES OLD TREE IN A MILLION YEAR OLD ECOSYSTEM, OVER HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF HECTARES OF PRIMARY FORESTS, PROTECT THEM?" RAN REFUSED TO ANSWER DIRECTLY, AND FINALLY ISSUED A ONE SENTENCE ANSWER THROUGH THEIR WEB MASTER WHICH READ: FSC is a vastly superior alternative to standard industrial logging. In forests that would otherwise be logged without third party oversight, FSC promotes practices that preserve ecosystem functions (like habitat and water quality) and safeguards the most ecologically valuable areas. THAT IS IT. AFTER TWO DIFFERENT PROTESTS DIRECTED AT RAN, COUNTLESS DISCUSSIONS, THAT IS THE ENTIRETY OF RAN'S SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSES TO OUR CRITIQUE OF THEIR SUPPORT FOR FSC. AND FSC-WATCH IMMEDIATELY NOTED THAT SUCH SAFEGUARDS DO NOT IN FACT EXIST. AT THAT TIME WE MADE CLEAR TO RAN THIS ANWWER IS INSUFFICIENT, THE REASONS WHY, AND THAT WE INTENDED TO INTENSIFY THE CAMPAIGN: http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2008/04/rainforest_action_network_defe.asp SINCE THAT TIME RAN HAS CHOSEN TO IGNORE AND DENIGRATE OUR CONCERNS. THEY HAVE BARRED MYSELF FROM POSTING TO THEIR WEB SITE, AND CENSORED COMMENTS OF OTHERS QUESTIONING THEIR FSC SUPPORT. RAN WAS FULLY INFORMED THAT THEY WERE A TARGET OF A DIRECT ACTION PROTEST, AND CHOSE TO IGNORE IT LEADING TO THE CURRENT EMAIL CAMPAIGN. THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF ECOLOGICAL INTERNET'S EARLIER CAMPAIGN DISCUSSION WITH RAN CAN BE FOUND AT: http://www.rainforestportal.org/issues/2007/11/the_transcript_ran_dodges_rega.asp IN CLOSING, RAN HAS SHOWN THEMSELVES TO BE COMPLETELY UNPREPARED AND UNABLE TO DEFEND THEIR FSC SUPPORT. AFTER 20 YEARS OF FAILURE, THEY OFFER NO ASSURANCES THAT FSC CAN BE REFORMED, OR ANY DEFENSE OF THEIR KEY PREMISE THAT FSC LOGGING PROTECTS ANCIENT FORESTS. UNTIL THEY MEANINGFULLY AND SUBSTANTIVELY RESPOND TO THE CONCERNS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE EARTH, IT IS ENTIRELY FAIR FOR THEM TO BE SUBJECTED TO PROTESTS THAT USE THE TACTICS THEY PIONEERED. AND BUSINESSES THAT SUPPORT RAN'S GREENWASH OF FIRST TIME LOGGING OF MILLIONS OF HECTARES OF PRIMARY FORESTS, WITH A WEAK AND MEANINGLESS FSC INDULGENCE, ARE FAIR GAME TOO. I HAVE SPENT MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE STUDYING THE ISSUE OF GLOBAL CHANGE AND THREATS TO THE GLOBAL ECOSYSTEM. I HAVE EARNED A MASTERS OF SCIENCE IN CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, AND PHD IN LAND RESOURCES DEALING WITH THESE MATTERS. I CAN SAY WITH CONFIDENCE THAT THERE IS NO CHANCE OF PLANETARY SURVIVAL IF THE MYTH THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO LOG ANCIENT FORESTS WITHOUT CRITICALLY DIMINISHING GLOBAL TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS IS NOT RIGOROUSLY DISCREDITED, STRONGLY TARGETING WHOMEVER MAY BE DOING SO. I AM WILLING TO DEBATE RAN AT ANY TIME AS LONG AS THEY PAY FOR ME TO GET THERE AS I AM BROKE. ECOLOGICAL INTERNET WILL NOT BE SILENCED BECAUSE IT IS IMPOLITE TO QUESTION THE DOMINANT PARADIGM THAT THREATENS OUR SHARED SURVIVAL. DR. GLEN BARRY September 27, 2008 Much more on the Rainforest Portal at: http://www.rainforestportal.org/shared/search/welcome.aspx?searchtext=RAN%20ancient%20forests --- You are subscribed to ecological_internet as [EMAIL PROTECTED] Before unsubscribing, please consider modifying your list profile at: http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or click here: http://email.ecoearth.info:81/u?id=84041H&n=T&c=F&l=ecological_internet To subscribe visit: http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/subscribe/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
