The dioxin did it
Jim Norton
And you thought it was safer than cheese doodles.
=========================================================
Anti-environmental myths
http://info-pollution.com/myths.htm
Practical skepticism
http://info-pollution.com/skeptic.htm
wolfb...@mindspring.com
article being posted in Many a paper:
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=48561
Headline:
Commentary:
Poisoning of Yushchenko exposes the great dioxin myth
By MICHAEL FUMENTO
Guest Commentary
IT'S perhaps fitting that dioxin was used in the attempted political
murder of Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko. That's
because dioxin is the most politicized chemical in history. It's
notorious for its role at New York's Love Canal, but primarily as an
ingredient in the defoliant Agent Orange.
Yet Yushchenko is alive because what's been called "the most deadly
chemical known" is essentially a myth.
Dioxin is an unwanted byproduct of incineration and certain industrial
processes such as bleaching, and was formerly found in some defoliants
and soaps. We all carry dioxin in our bodies, but Dutch researchers
said Yushchenko's exposure, probably from poisoned food, was about
6,000 times higher than average.
So why, as the Munchkin coroner said of the Wicked Witch of the East,
isn't Yushchenko "not only merely dead" but "really most sincerely
dead"?
The "deadly dioxin" legend began with guinea pigs. When fed to them in
studies, they did fall over like furry tenpins. Yet hamsters could
absorb 1,000 times as much dioxin before emitting their last squeals,
and other animals seemed impervious to the stuff.
Further, the animal deaths were from acute poisoning. But as a matter
of convenience for activists, it not only became accepted that guinea
pigs are the best animal model for humans, but also that dioxin is a
powerful carcinogen.
The original promoters of the legend were anti-Vietnam War activists.
Agent Orange, which contained a trace of dioxin, effectively stripped
away the jungle canopy that hid communist forces. So the enemy and its
U.S. sympathizers claimed it was poisoning not just trees but humans.
Pressured by these "humanitarians," the military quit spraying in 1971,
giving back the enemy his sanctuary from which to kill our troops.
>From there, the myth snowballed. After dioxin was found in the
industrial goop on which homeowners in Love Canal had built their
houses, every illness in the area was blamed not just on the
contamination generally but often specifically on the dioxin. The
governor ordered a forced evacuation.
But "numerous studies found no excess illness and today children again
play in the dirt at Love Canal," notes Michael Gough, a biologist and
former chairman of a federal advisory panel on Agent Orange.
Nevertheless, the cleanup of dioxin-contaminated areas continues to
cost U.S. industry a fortune.
As to Vietnam vets, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
found that despite what many vets believe, "The blood (dioxin) levels
of the Vietnam veterans were nearly identical to the levels found among
the non-Vietnam veterans." Only those who did the actual spraying,
members of Operation Ranch Hand, actually got significant doses.
The Air Force continually monitors these men and has found no unusual
rate of any illness save an alleged slight excess of diabetes. And a
government study of American chemical workers with higher dioxin
exposure didn't even find that. The Ranch Hands also have only half the
normal rate of stomach cancers.
The chloracne that so disfigured Yushchenko was also the only serious
symptom in the highest exposure of dioxin ever recorded, in which an
Austrian woman had about 16,000 times the normal body level. "We don't
know of a single person who has ever died of acute dioxin poisoning,"
says Robert Golden, president of the Maryland-based consulting firm
ToxLogic ... (cont)
while avoiding such articles as:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3116998a7144,00.html
excerpt:
Tests have discovered that the dioxins can still be found in the bodies
of New Zealanders after an estimated 20 million litres of the chemicals
were dumped on pastures between the 1950s and 1970s, the report People
Poisoned Daily says.
The report, focusing on the role of chemical giant Ivon Watkins Dow,
was released at Parliament yesterday. It says the widespread use of
245-T and 24-D, which mixed in equal parts make up Agent Orange, can be
linked to elevated levels of birth defects, cancers and reproductive
problems.
"This phenomenon has never been fully investigated or rectified by the
government, who subsidised a good portion of Dow's chemical
production." ...
http://www.ejnet.org/rachel/rhwn290.htm
headline:
YOUNG MALE RATS ARE 'DEMASCULINIZED' AND 'FEMINIZED' BY LOW DOSES OF
DIOXIN
Three new studies by researchers at University of Wisconsin reveal that
very low doses of dioxin alter the sexual development of young male
rats, causing demasculinization and feminization. [1,2,3]
Dr. Linda S. Birnbaum, a scientist with U.S. EPA [Environmental
Protection Agency] calls the new studies "highly significant."[4]
Birnbaum is one of the chief scientists conducting the EPA's formal
reassessment of the toxicity of dioxin (see RHWN #269, #270, #275). As
we reported earlier (RHWN #279), many scientists, including Birnbaum,
now consider dioxin an "environmental hormone." The new Wisconsin
studies support that view.
The Wisconsin researchers, led by Dr. Richard E. Peterson, showed that
dioxin interferes with the sexual development of male rats exposed to
dioxin before, and shortly after, birth. Pregnant female rats were
given a single oral dose of dioxin on the 15th day of pregnancy; their
male offspring showed reduced levels of male hormones in their blood
and a variety of sexual aberrations that stayed with them as they
matured. The young males are demasculinized and feminized by doses of
dioxin too low to cause any measurable toxicity in the mother rat. The
sexual changes in the young males are both physiological and
behavioral, and last into adulthood.
Dioxin passes through the placenta and enters the fetus, so the rat
fetuses received part of the mother's dose almost immediately. After
birth, the baby rats continued to receive a small dose of dioxin
through their mother's milk. Peterson says the baby rats received the
bulk of their dose through milk. In rats and humans both, females rid
their bodies of dioxin chiefly by excreting it in their milk. Dioxin is
soluble in fats and oils, and milk is high in fat.
Dioxin is the common name for a family of 75 toxins, the most potent of
which is TCDD [2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-P-dioxin]. The Wisconsin
researchers used TCDD in their experiments.
Dioxin is not made intentionally for any industrial purpose, but is
produced as a byproduct of the combustion of chlorine-containing
wastes, the bleaching of paper, and the manufacture of some pesticides.
The burning of municipal solid waste, and of many hazardous wastes,
releases dioxin into the environment, as does paper manufacture.
Government officials responsible for the quality of the environment in
the Great Lakes have called for a phase-out of chlorine, to reduce
dioxin levels in wildlife and humans around the Lakes. (See RHWN #284.)
In the Wisconsin experiments, young males whose mothers were given as
little as 0.064 micrograms of dioxin per kilogram of body weight showed
consistently reduced levels of male hormones, plus a variety of
physical and behavioral changes, including:
--reduced testosterone levels and probably a reduced response to
testosterone. Testosterone is a powerful hormone controlling various
aspects of sexual development in males.
--smaller accessory sex organs, including smaller testicles;
--slower sexual maturation;
--distinctly feminine-style regulation of one hormone related to
testosterone production;
--greater willingness to assume a receptive-female posture when
approached by a sexually stimulated male.
These effects "strongly suggest, though do not conclusively prove, that
TCDD impairs sexual differentiation in the CNS [central nervous
system]," according to Peterson and co-workers. They go on to say that,
"The present study provides the first evidence that TCDD impairs sexual
differentiation of the CNS." Sexual differentiation--the full
development of a female instead of a male, or vice versa--is affected
by hormones circulating in the blood before and after birth. .. (cont)
http://www.terradaily.com/2004/041220121536.b8v48ktf.html
headline:
TERRA.WIRE
Doctors give type of dioxin that poisoned Yushchenko
VIENNA (AFP) Dec 20, 2004
Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned by the
same form of the toxic chemical dioxin as the one found in a 1976
disaster at a factory in Seveso, Italy, an Austrian doctor said Monday.
"The results of analysis carried out in three different laboratories in
the Netherlands and Germany agree... that it is was TCDD" or
tetra-chloro-dibenzo-dioxin, Michael Zimpfer, head doctor at Vienna's
Rudolfinerhaus said.
He refused to comment further, saying Yushchenko's family did not want
more details revealed.
On December 11, Zimpfer had told a press conference that Yushchenko was
suffering from dioxin poisoning and that this may have been
intentionally done.
French toxicologists said however that they were at a loss to explain
why presumed assassins would use dioxin, a chemical that is a
progressive killer, as a weapon against Yushchenko.
At extremely high doses, dioxin causes liver failure and death, but at
smaller doses, it causes organ damage and cancer, which can kill but
usually years down the road, they said.
Dioxin also causes a severe skin disease, chloracne, which is the most
visible of Yushchenko's problems, but this is usually not a fatal
condition.
"If someone was trying to kill him, cyanide or bacterial toxins would
have been more effective," Professor Jean-Francois Narbonne from
France's University of Bordeaux said.
"Dioxin is not the only substance capable of producing such lesions,"
he said, referring to the severe form of acne which has disfigured
Yushchenko's face.
"There is not one dioxin but 210," Dr. Jacques Descotes from the
southern French city of Lyon said.
"We don't know much about most of them, except for Seveso dioxin,"
Descotes said, referring to the 1976 disaster in Italy, in which more
than 1,200 people were poisoned by gas that seeped from a chemical
factory. ...(cont)
gordo
>Yes but the fact that Yushchenko is still alive has lead to this
>article being posted in Many a paper:
>
>http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=48561
>
>Headline:
>
Snip because if you want to read some ones opinion it is intact above.
Dioxin has been shown to be one of the most lethal poisons on some
animals where it has been shown to be carcinogenic at extremely small
parts per trillion.. It is not good for humans either.
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20041220/topstories/52896.shtml
Troops handling the herbicide -- named Agent Orange for the color of a
stripe on 55-gallon shipping drums -- may have developed blood levels
of about 20 parts per trillion.
While a small dose in comparison to that given Yushchenko, it was
enough, according to some studies, to cause cancer, diabetes, nerve
damage and other diseases in susceptible individuals. Studies also
linked the toxin to a birth defect, spina bifida, in children of
troops who served in Vietnam.
Based on these studies, Congress instructed the department to assume
that any of a long list of diseases developed by Vietnam veterans
could be considered as caused by Agent Orange.
............
Industry still tries to down play the dangers of dioxin. I do not want
it in my food.
Gordo
Aozotorp
I will take the links I have over yours any day!
gordo
OK with me but do you want dioxins in your food?
Ciaran Hughes
I thought some of you might be interested in this. It deals with the
unsustainable forest management policy of Coillte Teoranta (Ireland's
largest forestry company).
Please read the petition statement. Please also feel free to comment on it.
http://www.petitiononline.com/rfpii
The Woodland League are a group in Ireland that aim at promoting
sustainable native forestry, partially through the FSC principles, in
Ireland and the World.
Regards,
Ciarán Hughes
Secretary and Acting PRO
The Woodland League
Ireland
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Fwd: FSC Certification of Coillte Teoranta
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 14:53:54 +0000
From: Brendan Kelly <brendankel...@yahoo.ie>
To: ciaran...@yahoo.co.uk
===================
http://www.petitiononline.com/rfpii
Dear All,
I am writing to you from Ireland, where we are having serious issues
with forestry, and unsustainable foreign-exotic monoculture planting of
forests.
Ireland is currently the worst country in the EU regarding how much of
it's forestry is foreign exotic (and therefore non-native). Currently,
over 90% of our planting is foreign exotic (mainly Sitka Spruce, which
is native to North America, not Europe). The next worst achiever in the
EU is France, who plant a rate of 49% foreign exotics. The EU average
is 27% foreign exotics.
Most of the problems in Irish Forestry are down to a single Irish
forestry company, Coillte. Coillte own 1,500,000ha of Ireland (about 6%
of the landmass of Ireland). In the 1970s, the forests of Ireland were
given to the people of Ireland. In 1989, this changed when Coillte were
formed. Coillte took over what was public land, without ever asking the
public.
The massive rate of foreign exotic monoculture planting leaves the
forests vulnerable to disease and insect attacks (e.g. there have been
several outbreaks of Pine Weevil, which were previously unheard of in
Ireland). To combat this, Coillte use pesticides which are known to be
dangerous. Coillte's methods of planting and mechanical clearfelling
destroys heritage sites that would be in forestry.
These plantations...
..have contributed to pollution of water due to acidification, siltation
and contamination by phosphate fertilisers.
..kill native flora due to the enormous decrease in light reaching the
ground.
..create a higher risk of insect infestation and disease (e.g. pine
weevil outbreaks, which were previously unknown in Ireland, have now
taken place).
..require a higher rate of pesticide usage than native broadleaf
forests, due to their susceptibility to insect infestation and disease.
This leads to all the pollution and health problems associated with the
dangerous chemicals that are pesticides.
..are highly susceptible to fire due to the resin content of non-native
species. This risk is increased on peatland.
..contribute to physical damage due to drainage, planting, road-making
and felling.
..contribute to depopulation and decline of rural villages. Ireland's
current type of forestry uses highly mechanised processes, and leads to
minimal labour input.
..destroys native bio-diversity. There is a growing awareness that
native bio-diversity - be it native Irish oak woodland or a tropical
rainforest - is crucial to our continued existence on this planet.
Despite all this, Coillte have managed to obtain FSC certification, to a
National Standard that is far weaker to the FSC principles, developed by
a company called IFCI.
To combat these actions, the Woodland League in Ireland has started a
petition, online at http://www.petitiononline.com/rfpii. This petition
will be directed at Coillte (the main culprit), FSC International, The
Soil Association (the people who certify Coillte) and IFCI (the people
that designed the standard that Coillte are certfied to).
Please, help us to change our forest policy to a much more sustainable
policy by signing the petition, and hopefully I can help highlight
problems in other countries to people in Ireland.
Much more information can be found at the petition site
http://www.petitiononline.com/rfpii
The Woodland League are a group that are dedicated to the return to
socially, spiritually, environmentally and economically sustainable
forest. The website, www.woodlandleague.org is currently under
construction.
Please sign the petition at
http://www.petitiononline.com/rfpii
or send an e-mail to
ciaran...@yahoo.co.uk
with your name, address, organisation(if applicable), and e-mail, and
you will be put on the list.
Regards,
Ciarán Hughes,
The Woodland League
FULL PETITION STATEMENT AVAILABLE AT http://www.petitiononline.com/rfpii
===============
To: Coillte Teo., FSC International, IFCI Ltd. and The Soil
Association/Woodmark
We the undersigned ..
..object to Coillte Teoranta's certification to a substandard that is
far inferior to the FSC principles and criteria.
..have no confidence in the Irish Forestry Certification Initiative and
its support for the continuation of Coillte's massive exotic
coniferisation of Ireland, for Coillte's continued use of pesticides,
and for Coillte's continued sale of land for the development of
landfills, and wind-farms, amongst other developments.
..want a reform of forest policy, and want to attempt to revert to the
more environmentally, socially, spiritually and ultimately economically
beneficial forestry of the past.
Regards,
The undersigned
============================
"The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations."
- The Bible
Ireland is a forest country, and was for many thousands of years. The
conditions are near perfect for the growth of trees. The most authentic
Irish landscape is diverse native broadleaf woodland, with all it's
attendant biodiversity (woodland flowers, herbs, wildlife, insects,
etc.). Theodore Woolsey said, in his book Impressions of French
Forestry, "next to agriculture, the business of forestry with its
related industries is the chief source of prosperity in purely land states".
The economy of Ireland under the Gaelic Order was that of the forests.
This great resource was the provider of raw materials, medicine,
weapons, tools, charcoal, food (in the form of berries, nuts, fungi,
fruit, wild animals, etc.) as well as the basis for spirituality and
wisdom. No other country has as many placenames connected to the forest.
As many as 40,000 still exist, however hopelessly out of context because
of deforestation or foreign exotic plantations nearby.
There are also many family names associated with native broadleaf trees
(McIvor is Sons of Yew, McCarthy is Sons of Rowan, McColl is Sons of
Hazel amongst many others). The original Gaelic Alphabet for the old
Irish language came from the native trees of Ireland.
These are just some good reasons to reconnect Irish people to their true
roots, to help learn about nature, history, biodiversity, ecotourism,
woodland crafts, etc.
In the last few centuries, there has been a massive deforestation of
Irish land. What has been replaced, has been by and large replaced with
foreign exotic near-monoculture conifer plantations. Coillte currently
plant over 90% near-monoculture foreign exotic conifers. These
plantations...
..have contributed to pollution of water due to acidification, siltation
and contamination by phosphate fertilisers.
..kill native flora due to the enormous decrease in light reaching the
ground.
..create a higher risk of insect infestation and disease (e.g. pine
weevil outbreaks, which were previously unknown in Ireland, have now
taken place).
..require a higher rate of pesticide usage than native broadleaf
forests, due to their susceptibility to insect infestation and disease.
This leads to all the pollution and health problems associated with the
dangerous chemicals that are pesticides.
..are highly susceptible to fire due to the resin content of non-native
species. This risk is increased on peatland.
..contribute to physical damage due to drainage, planting, road-making
and felling.
..contribute to depopulation and decline of rural villages. Ireland's
current type of forestry uses highly mechanised processes, and leads to
minimal labour input.
..destroys native bio-diversity. There is a growing awareness that
native bio-diversity - be it native Irish oak woodland or a tropical
rainforest - is crucial to our continued existence on this planet.
============================
WHY THE WOODLAND LEAGUE OBJECT TO THE F.S.C. CERTIFICATION OF COILLTE:
"If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in
danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a
speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before
her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen."
- Henry David Thoreau
Coillte's past and present standards of operation are far below the
international FSC standards for sustainable plantations and natural
forests. Certification of Coillte may jeopardise the reputation and
integrity of the FSC Ecolabel in Ireland and abroad. It may also
undermine our efforts to encourage Irish consumers to demand FSC
certified local wood products and FSC certified hardwood imports. We
need to be in a position to convince and guarantee consumers that FSC
does represent true sustainability - economically, socially and
environmentally. If Coillte is certified at current standards, changing
consumer patterns will become an onerous task.
There has been no commitment by Coillte for a holistic review of company
policy with regard to broadening their primary mandate, which is
economic return. Coillte continues to have a policy of clearfelling and
a policy of minimum broadleaf planting on public land and on farms in
the Coillte Farm Partnership Scheme.
Coillte incorrectly claimed that they were a private enterprise so that
they could retain EU grants that the EU courts ruled that they must
return (A public body is not entitled to EU funding). The clawback of EU
grants draws into question Coillte's economic strategy and the
availability of additional monies that will be needed to achieve and
maintain FSC forest standards. Coillte also misused taxpayer’s money in
prolonging the weak legal arguments in the EU courts.
Coillte continues to act in a manner similar to private companies
despite a consultants report to the Minister stating that privatisation
was contra-indicated. Coillte appears to have an unofficial policy of
creeping privatisation. The sale and long-term leasing of publicly owned
forests without local or national public consultation continues to
increase. Coillte has failed to address communities concerns and has
failed to implement measures to demonstrate transparency and
accountability in all transactions. Our forests continue to be
ear-marked for the development of private recreational facilities, high
cost luxury tourist and residential accommodation, land-fill sites,
power stations, wind-farms, phone-masts, commercial and industrial
sites, etc. Local communities are not consulted in advance regarding
proposed change of ownership and use. Communities, fearful that their
local forest may be privatised without notice, must constantly monitor
planning applications to ensure that their forests remain in public
ownership for long-term public use. Some communities that have been
effected by Coillte's developments include Monivea, Dartry Wood,
Derrybrien, Balrath, Monivea, Murroe, Camolin, Bottlehill, Portumna,
Sites in Cork and Waterford, Dunstown Wood, Lough Eske, Balrath, Borlin
Valley, Sliabh Luachra, Shipool, Motepark, Glending and others.
Coillte continues to pay lipservice to the process of public
consultation at local level. The strategies to engage communities in the
public consultation process for new forest management unit (FMU) plans
have been inadequate. Notifications of meetings are sometimes sent at
very short notice and efforts to inform interested parties are
inadequate. For example, due to Coillte's poor publicity efforts for a
public meeting in Co. Wexford, there was an extremely low attendance -
approximately 20 people with the majority being Coillte employees.
Recently in Murroe, Co. Limerick, Coillte refused to attend a public
meeting of the community. Where community boards have been established,
Coillte has retained the power to select the community's
representative(s) from the community nominations. Communities are being
forced to engage in a process where procedures are flawed from the
beginning.
Coillte's management of the Woodlands of Ireland Millennium Woodlands
Project has failed to include and fund environmental groups and their
membership as equal working partners in this publicly funded project.
The programme has also been criticised for promotional and technical
weaknesses. For example, the boundaries of the proposed landfill site in
Camolin Wood, Co. Wexford, overlaps with the Camolin Millennium Woodland.
Coillte's planting of over 90% near-monoculture foreign exotic species,
along with the problems listed above, is in breach of the UN Convention
on Biological Diversity, the Helsinki Agreement on Forestry, the Rio
Agreement on Biodiversity, the Ministerial Conferences on the Protection
of Forests in Europe at Strasbourg and Lisbon.. The Helsinki Conference
definition for sustainable forest management is "The stewardship and use
of forest and forest land in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their
biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their
potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological,
economical and social functions, at local, national and global levels
and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems." This is not a
description of Coillte forestry. The next worst achiever in the EU in
this regard is France, who plant 48% foreign exotics. The EU average is
27% conifer planting.
There are many other social, environmental and heritage issues with
Coillte that the Woodland League are aware of, including farm animals
being impounded by Coillte; Turbury, Fishing and Sporting Rights being
ignored; Flooding (e.g. at Burncourt); landfill sites being placed in
Coillte land (or in land that was taken by Coillte from communities);
effects on water quality; effects of acid sensitive soils; workers not
being told what chemicals they are using; inadequate firebelts;
pesticide usage; inadequate fencing around the forestry, Phosphate
pollution in many rivers and lakes in Clare, Galway and Mayo; flooding;
water quality; soil erosion (e.g. at Moycullen, Derrybrien); pesticides
usage; siltation of rivers (e.g. at Loobagh river); blocked streams;
eutrophication in many lakes (e.g. Lough Corrib); lack of biodiversity
in forestry (i.e. monoculture foreign exotic planting), ring forts,
burial grounds and many other heritage sites being destroyed by
Coillte's methods of planting, and their sale of land for development.
============================
WHY THE WOODLAND LEAGUE OBJECT TO THE I.F.C.I. STANDARDS
“When the last river is poisoned,
when the last tree is gone,
when the last fish has gone,
then we might realize,
we cannot eat money!”
- Chief Seattle (Native American Chief, 1850’s)
In 2002, Coillte Teoranta obtained Forest Stewardship Council
certification from the Soil Association/Woodmark (they were formerly
certified by SGS). The standard used by Woodmark was developed by the
Irish Forestry Certification Initiative (FSC National Initiative for
Ireland).
The IFCI was formed in 1999 (and incorporated as a company in 2000). FSC
Principle and Criteria allow for three chambers in a National Initiative
(the Economic, Social and Environmental). However, in the formation of
IFCI in 1999, a fourth chamber was added. This was the "Woodland
Owners/Small Growers" chamber, and was essentially a second Economic
Chamber, giving economic interests an unbalanced 50% of the voting power
in IFCI. The fourth chamber was added despite grave concerns being
expressed by several members of the Steering Committee of IFCI.
Since it's formation, Coillte Teoranta infiltrated every level of IFCI.
They have had employees, former employees or people looking to become
employed by Coillte on the Social, Economic and Woodland Owners
Chambers, and in the Steering Committee, Technical Working Group and as
Directors of IFCI. Initially, they even tried to get an employee onto
the Environmental Chamber, but fortunately for everybody, this was
prevented.
Under the IFCI standard (used by the Soil Association/Woodmark) Coillte
are allowed to plant using methods outlined above, and still achieve FSC
certification.
Under the current IFCI draft standard, Coillte are allowed to use
pesticides on their forestry, unhindered, and without having to address
the main cause of the need for pesticides. People Against Pesticides (a
Social NGO opposed to the use of pesticides) were involved in the IFCI
process from the beginning. PaP would not agree to pesticide usage in
the IFCI standard unless Coillte increased their planting of native
trees to 50%, and thus began to address the need for pesticides (the
timescale for this was negotiable). In 2003 there was an illegal attempt
to remove PaP's representative, which resulted in PaP going
unrepresented for several months. In this period, several principles
were agreed, not least those concerning pesticide usage. In 2004, PaP's
representative was removed fully.
This weak draft standard from IFCI bypasses local community rights to
participate in local planning issues as is their right under Agenda 21,
from which FSC principles were drawn, and allows Coillte to sell their
land for development as outlined above. The following quote is from a
book by Eoin Neeson - A History of Irish Forestry
"In the early 1970’s the State forests were opened to the public on the
basis that to the public they belonged; ‘conservation’ and ‘environment’
became important words. A plan to awaken public consciousness of forests
in this context culminated in the European Conservation programme of
1970, conducted by the Forest and Wildlife Service. A natural
development was to regularize the position in respect of the abundant
forest-associated wildlife, resulting in the Wildlife Act of 1976."
Coillte has ignored this.
A few examples of what Coillte are allowed do with FSC certification
using the IFCI standard:
Monivea Wood is currently under threat of development with a quango
posing as a community co-operative with which Coillte are proposing to
sell to them. 95% of local people oppose this. Lady Kathleen Ffrench
left the land to the people of Monivea and the nation in 1946. She
stated the 400 acres of beech woodland would be left until the trees rot
in the ground. By the 1950s the trees were cut down by the land
commission/forestry board and replaced with a conifer plantation, which
is now ready for clear felling, hence the sale. Coillte never consulted
the real community. Coillte can and do ignore FSC criteria to engage and
consult indigenous communities at all times.
In order to obtain FSC certification, Coillte needed some PR to show
their environmental intentions and social (community involvement and
consultation) provisions. They set up the Neighbour Wood Scheme with
Forest Service (funding currently being withdrawn). The Woodlands of
Ireland, The Peoples Millennium Forests, all of these run with their own
people at the helm (including the Irish Forestry Certification
Initiative). Camolin Forest, in Wexford, was an ancient Irish woodland
(Sessile Oak, with a Holly under-storey) (ancient being over 400 years,
in terms of forestry). This wood was clear felled to make way for the
Peoples Millennium Forest. Camolin was a vital resource for a seed bank
to help restore over degraded bio-diversity, but that is now lost.
The fact is that Coillte have never shown any willingness to adhere to
FSC principles, with the exception of petty PR exercises. The IFCI has
given Coillte FSC certification to a sub-standard (a standard that is
far inferior to the FSC principles).
============================
In the spirit espoused by the late Dr. Ann Behan, without whom the
Woodland League would never have existed, we ask you to sign the petition.
For more information contact:
Andrew St. Ledger,
PRO, The Woodland League,
Quinlevins,
Garruragh,
Tulla,
Co. Clare.
Ireland.
kare...@eircom.net
Ciarán Hughes,
Secretary, The Woodland League,
Caherawoneen,
Kinvara,
Co. Galway.
Ireland.
ciaran...@yahoo.co.uk
Brendan Kelly,
Liaison Officer, The Woodland League,
Killaan,
Woodlawn,
Ballinasloe,
Co. Galway.
Ireland.
brendankel...@yahoo.ie
or visit:
www.woodlandleague.org
[at the time of creation of this petition, the internet site was under
construction]
Sincerely,