Forest Stewardship Council “provisionally suspends” logging company operating in the territory of the uncontacted Mashco Piro
But why was it ever certified in the first place?
Several logging companies are operating inside the territory of the Mashco Piro Indigenous People, who live in voluntary isolation in the rainforests of Peru. Two of these logging companies were certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, an organisation that claims to have “the world’s most rigorous and trusted forest certification system”, and makes claims about upholding Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
One of the logging concessions is part of the Madre de Dios Amazon REDD project. It is run by Maderera Río Yaverija S.A.C. (Maderyja). In April 2022, FSC suspended Maderyja and terminated the certificate in January 2023. However, FSC’s statement about the suspension makes no mention of Indigenous Peoples.
Provisional suspension
On 30 August 2024, FSC announced that it would “provisionally suspend the certification of Maderera Canales Tahuamanu (MCT)”, one of the other logging companies operating inside the Mashco Piro’s territory. The suspension starts on 13 September 2024 and will be in place for eight months.
FSC states that it “will commission Assurance Services International (ASI) to undertake a thorough investigation into the rights of Indigenous Peoples in isolation and initial contact (PIACIs) in relation to FSC forest management certification in Peru”.
ASI claims that its organisation, activities, and decisions are independent of FSC, but the reality is that ASI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of FSC. Andre de Freitas, a former Director General of FSC, is on ASI’s board. And many of ASI’s FSC assessors previously worked within the FSC system.
ASI has already carried out two previous assessments of the MCT certification, in 2022 and 2023.
Journalist David Hill, who has been reporting on the Mashco Piro for several years, writes that,
According to what the FSC’s Director General Kim Carstensen told indigenous federations AIDESEP and FENAMAD the day before it issued that statement, an FSC delegation will travel to Peru in November, while the investigation will be carried out by “Accreditation Services International.” The fact that the Director General can’t even get right the name of the company that the FSC will be using speaks volumes.
Why was MCT ever certified?
FSC states that in addition to ASI’s investigation,
Additionally, FSC representatives will visit Peru to meet with government officials, local stakeholders, and Indigenous Peoples' organizations to engage in dialogue, understand the land classification issues in the country, and ensure that our actions are informed by on-the-ground realities.
To further strengthen our approach, FSC will seek guidance from relevant UN bodies and other intergovernmental organizations on best practices for upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation. This process aims to establish clear guidelines for FSC certification and engagement on these sensitive issues going forward.
But FSC’s “provisional suspension” comes 13 years after MCT’s logging concession was first certified.
As Hill asks, why on earth did FSC not attempt to “understand the land classification issues in the country” and the “on-the-ground realities”, and “seek guidance from relevant UN bodies” before certifying a logging company with a concession in the territory of the Mashco Piro?
And why on earth is it only just occurring to FSC, 31 years after the organisation was founded, that it needs “to establish clear guidelines for FSC certification” of logging companies operating in the territories of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation?
No guidelines are needed. Just one simple rule: Do not certify logging operations in the territory of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation.
Media coverage and 15,000 emails to FSC
In July 2024, Survival International released photographs and a video of dozens of Mashco Piro “dangerously close to logging concessions”. The photographs went viral and were reported on around the world.
Survival International set up a petition to the FSC demanding the cancellation of MCT’s certificate. Almost 15,000 people have signed the petition.
In a statement following FSC’s announcement about the “provisional suspension” of MCT’s certificate, Survival International’s Fiona Watson says,
“The massive media coverage of the images that Survival released in July, and the 15,000 emails sent to the FSC by Survival’s supporters, have clearly forced a reluctant FSC to act. It’s good that it’s suspended the company’s certification, but there’s no reason not to cancel it permanently.”
Also in July 2024, three Amazonian Indigenous organisations wrote to FSC, accusing FSC of “endorsing the systematic violation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples” and demanding that FSC cancels MCT’s certificate.
This is obvious, not complex
In the announcement of the “provisional suspension” of MCT’s certificate, FSC’s Director General, Kim Carstensen, says, “It is crucial that we fully understand the complexities of this situation and ensure that our standards remain inclusive and protective of all communities.”
But there are no “complexities” in this situation. It is blindingly obvious that FSC should never certify logging operations in the territory of Indigenous Peoples living in voluntary isolation.
As Hill points out,
The key facts are so obvious — the decades-long documented use of what is now MCT’s concession by the Mashco-Piro, the proposal to include those areas in an intangible reserve in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the decision to permit MCT to operate there instead — that the apparent need for another eight months to “investigate” seems bizarre.
Despite this, FSC’s auditing companies (who are paid by the logging company, MCT, to carry out the audit) have never mentioned the Mashco Piro in any of their reports. Hill writes that in the 2011 certifying report, Rainforest Alliance included a paragraph on the reserve established for the Mashco Piro, but referred to an “indigenous population, possibly Yora and Amahuaca”, rather than calling them the Mashco Piro which is the most common name for them in Peru.
No logging in the Mashco Piro’s territory
The day before FSC made its announcement to “provisionally suspend” MCT’s certificate, two loggers were shot dead with arrows, one was injured, and two more have been reported missing following a confrontation with the Mashco Piro.
Eusebio Ríos, the vice-president of the regional Indigenous federation FENAMAD, told The Guardian that,
“There are people wounded, dead, missing – we don’t know what’s happening or what has happened.
“FENAMAD has been demanding for a long time that this territory be properly protected for uncontacted peoples.”
Ríos called for timber workers to be evacuated from the Mashco Piro’s territory.
The Peruvian government must expand the Mashco Piro’s reserve and cancel all logging operations in the Mashco Piro’s territory. In the meantime, FSC must cancel MCT’s certificate.
As Survival International writes,
Losing the certification will be a powerful signal — to the company and the government — that logging in this area must stop, before it’s too late for the Mashco Piro.
Great post, thanks! I'll count this as a win, but sure hope it can be made permanent. Thank you for supporting Survival International.