Victory for those working to end ancient rainforest logging, and a defeat for supporters of forest certification greenwashing, as an important precedent is set

January 18, 2008
By Ecological Internet, Contact: Dr. Glen Barry, +1 (920) 776-1075, glenbarry@ecologicalinternet.org

(Ocean City, New Jersey) — The city council of Ocean City voted last night 6-0 to cancel a $1.1 million purchase of ipê timber originating in ancient rainforests. The timber was to be used to patch a one block stretch of Atlantic boardwalk. The purchase provoked outrage as it went against a ten-year old pledge by the council to not use rainforest timbers.

The mayor and others argued Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification ensured sustainability. Estimates are over 60% of FSC timber comes from first time logging of ancient forests, with claims only it is “well-managed”. Such misleading statements setup a showdown with local group “Friends of the Rain Forest” and led them to a year of protest with support from Ecological Internet (EI) and others.