A parliamentary question regarding the Forest Products Commission's ISO 14001 certification for native timber harvesting and its implications for environmental sustainability, particularly in light of conservation concerns raised during the Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) process. The answer outlines the meaning of the certification.

AnsweredQoN 1072Legislative Assembly
Asked
20 September 2001
Member
Portfolio
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

QuestionView source ↗

(1) Noting that the Forest Products Commission has recently been given accreditation under the International Standards Organisation (ISO) for its system of harvesting native timber resources, I ask what does this certification mean in terms of an international independent body such as the ISO recognising the environmental sustainability of the Commission's logging practices?
(2) Does this certification mean that our forests are being well managed without significant impacts on their many environmental and conservation values, in spite of what was said to the contrary by the voluntary conservation movements during the RFA process?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
27 November 2001
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Response time
68 days
The EMS ISO 14001 demonstrates a commitment to compliance with applicable legislation, regulations and continuous improvement and ensures that environment management is completed in a systematic manner. The FPC's EMS has made a full commitment to supporting environmental sustainability under the control of the Department of Conservation and Land Management and will use external auditors to certify the FPC's environmental management processes. 2. Certification means that any forest management operation practiced by the FPC is conducted in line with the most internationally recognised structured management system available. The EMS ensures that FPC has identified all activities that have a significant impact on the environment, including conservation values, and implemented operational procedures that will reduce environment impacts to an acceptable level.
2. Certification means that any forest management operation practiced by the FPC is conducted in line with the most internationally recognised structured management system available. The EMS ensures that FPC has identified all activities that have a significant impact on the environment, including conservation values, and implemented operational procedures that will reduce environment impacts to an acceptable level.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more