April 2002
TTF Meet Indonesian Forestry Minister
A Timber Trade delegation met with Indonesian Forestry Minister, Doctor Prokassa along with UK International Development Minister Hilary Benn MP (Thursday 18 April 2002) to discuss issues of mutual concern. Later the two ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of their respective governments.
The Memorandum of Understanding followed on from the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance Conference held in Bali last September. FLEG committed all its signatories to developing bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements to eliminate the trade in illegal timber and timber products. The Memorandum of Understanding is the first UK example of such an initiative.
Paul martin TTF Director General said, " The UK trade is clearly committed to playing its part in dealing with the issues of illegal logging and the illegal trade in timber. We hope that progress can be made in the next couple of years towards making the Indonesian forestry sector better regulated and more sustainable. I was particularly pleased Hilary Benn praised the Federation's new Environmental Code of practice as an important step in publicly binding the trade to eliminate the market in illegal timber. "
For Further information call Mark O'Brien on 020 7839 1891 or email mobrien@ttf.co.uk
Timber Trade Federation Launches Code of Conduct
Thursday 25 April 2002
The Timber Trade Federation has launched a new Code of Conduct, which will commit all its Members to trading fairly and responsibly.
Under the Code, Members will not knowingly misrepresent facts or mislead any customer or supplier concerning any aspect of the goods and services they provide. They also agree to abide by specific codes of practice relevant to their business to help them supply accurately marked and labelled products.
It will guarantee that should a complaint against a Member not be resolved to a customer's satisfaction then an independent procedure for investigating any complaint will be initiated. This operates in conjunction with the fully independent Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Paul Martin, the TTF's Director-General said " If customers wish to take advantage of the protection offered by the Code of Conduct then they should make sure that deal only with a Timber Trade Federation Member. All our Members are committed to delivering quality and service to their customers."
The Timber Trade Federation is the leading trade association for the UK timber industry.
For further information contact Mark O'Brien on 020 7839 1891 or email: mobrien@ttf.co.uk
Timber Trade Federation " Disappointed " at Budget 2002
The Timber Trade Federation reacted to Budget 2002 with disappointment. Mark O'Brien the TTF's Public Affairs Manager said, " It's extremely difficult to reconcile the Chancellor's recent comment that " creating the right environment for business is central to everything the government does " with the decision to increase National Insurance Contributions from 11.8% to 12.8%. Business has spent the last five years coping with an increasing burden of red tape and ever more regulation and is now faced with an effective tax increase on jobs. "
The Timber Trade Federation also expressed disappointment that there had been no change in the level of VAT on repair and maintenance of domestic property and no widening of the range of energy efficient products eligible for reduced VAT. The TTF had supported the Construction Products Association campaign in favour of both of these over the last year.
The TTF welcomed the freeze in fuel duty in the face of a high level of world oil prices, the changes to the VAT regime for small business and being a very social trade the freeze on wine, spirits and beer duty.
Mark O'Brien said, " Specifically the hike in NICs for business more than outweighed these plus points and more generally the apparent return to old tax and spend economics will worry many in the business community."
TTF Challenge Cameroon Claim
The Timber Trade Federation would like to correct the mistaken impression given in Sam Lister's article (The Times 17 April 2002) regarding forestry in the Cameroon. Although the Cameroon has faced problems over the last decade much recent progress has been made towards placing their forestry sector on a more sustainable basis.
Global Witness has been appointed as an independent observer of the forestry sector; six field investigations have been carried out with the Cameroon government aimed at improved forestry management and there is much greater transparency covering logging operations and the allocation of concessions.
While it is true that there is no certified timber coming from the Cameroon that does not mean that there has not been considerable progress with improved forest practices particularly over the last few years.
Sam Lister's article also incorrectly asserts that the Forest Stewardship Council is the only independent forest certification system available. The number of forest certification initiatives has more than doubled since 1996 and there are now over forty schemes under development in more than thirty countries.
Only 0.29% of UK timber imports come from Africa but it is vital that the UK trade plays its part in encouraging producer countries to work towards better forestry practices ensuring the long- term future of the forests, which is in the industry's interests as well as the wider world.
Boycotting timber from the Cameroon would remove any incentives to do this, devaluing the forest as a resource, which would put the forest at greater risk of conversion to other land uses such as agriculture.
The fact is that since 1983 companies operating forest concessions in the Cameroon have been required to undertake " public interest work " such as providing schools and dispensaries, in addition to providing local employment. Companies like NHG Timber have actually indirectly contributed to the Cameroon's economic development and social provision and they will continue to play a positive role in the country's future, which includes a well-managed and continuously improving forestry sector.
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