FSC disassociates Brazilian forestry company

FSC disassociates Brazilian forestry company

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has disassociated from the Brazilian forestry company, Jari Group (Jari), after an investigation carried out by an independent panel of environmental, social and economic experts concluded that the company had breached FSC’s Policy for Association.

After analyzing all the evidence and conducting a field visit and in-depth stakeholder interviews, the panel determined that Jari had been involved in illegal logging or the trade in illegal wood or forest products and had also failed to formally and consistently recognize the existence of traditional communities within its forest management area, leading directly to the violation of traditional and human rights in forestry operations.

FSC’s Policy for Association specifies six unacceptable activities that companies are required to avoid, including illegal logging or the trade in illegal wood or forest products and violation of traditional and human rights in forestry operations.

To be readmitted to the FSC system in the future, Jari must address a set of requirements aimed at correcting the identified failures and improving their systems, preventing future Policy for Association violations, as well as compensating for the social and environmental damages caused. Jari must, among other measures, develop and implement robust due diligence and traceability systems, as well as compensate for environmental damage.

In addition, Jari must also improve its systems and processes for stakeholder engagement and consultation, to ensure the formal recognition and respect of traditional and human rights. This includes a stakeholder mapping exercise to verify the existence and location of traditional communities within Jari’s operations and neighboring areas, as well as consultation with traditional and local communities about its management practices following the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

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