The ecological and economic importance of forests and the industries that rely on them are currently being scrutinised in South Africa, at the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) General Assembly. WWF, the conservation organisation, says the role of cork and wine promoting sustainable use of forests will provide important guidelines to the forestry sector which contributes about R12 billion to South Africa's GDP.

 

The FSC General Assembly which takes place every three years provides representatives from the business, environmental and social sectors from over 60 countries a chance to discuss the close link between people, forests and business around the world.

 

This year the event is being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), of which among other things the use of FSC certified cork will be highlighted.

 

Therèse Brinkcate, Ecosystems Partnership Manager for WWF South Africa says the FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organisation, established to promote responsible management of the world's forests. Products bearing the FSC label are independently certified to ensure that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. Many products used in South Africa are FSC certified, meaning that producers are complying with the highest social and environmental standards on the market. One such product is cork.

 

Cork is a natural, renewable, recyclable and biodegradable product and is the natural way to preserve wine. No trees are cut to harvest the cork, instead bark of cork oak trees are stripped every 9-12 years. This is one of the most environmental friendly harvesting processes in the world.

 

Worldwide 15 billion cork stoppers are manufactured every year to seal wine bottles. 

 

"Cork for wine bottle stoppers accounts for almost 70% of the total value of the cork market. Hence the vital role played by the wine industry in maintaining the economic value of cork and the cork oak landscapes. The increase in the market share of alternative wine stoppers, specifically plastic stoppers and screw tops, could reduce the economic value of cork lands therefore leading to their conversion for other uses, abandonment, degradation, and finally loss of one of the most valuable examples of a human-nature balanced system" says Brinkcate.

 

Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree, growing naturally in the West Mediterranean Basin, and designated as a Global priority species by WWF in urgent need for conservation. Therefore WWF launched with its partners the WWF Cork Oak Landscapes Programme in July 2004, in order to ensure the conservation of this species and the biodiversity of its landscapes.

 

This programme looks at protecting, managing and restoring the natural wealth of cork oak landscapes by influencing the policies, practices and markets that affect them. They are addressing key challenges and promoting sustainable markets, improving governance, changing policy, building capacity at local, national and international levels and demonstrating solutions through field projects.

 

"Through its cork oak landscapes programme, WWF uses FSC certification as a market-based tool to drive best management practices on the ground while ensuring sustainable cork markets through the production and trade chain - from the forest to the wine bottle. WWF considers that FSC certification is the best tool to ensure responsible management of cork oak forests, and therefore it is working with its partners on promoting FSC certification among the cork industry, wine industry, land owners and forest managers" says Nora Berrahmouni, Head of forest Unit for WWF Mediterranean Programme.

 

Leading wineries have already publicly demonstrated their commitment to cork. Wine bottles sealed with FSC cork are already available in the market : three wine producers/ bottlers have certified their chain of custody and seal their wine bottles with FSC cork stoppers (South Africa, Oregon, and Spain). 

 

Moreover, Wine retailers such as Woolworths in South Africa have shown a growing interest for FSC cork.

 

Woolworths is continuing to seek raw material that is independently certified as coming from approved sustainable sources (eg. material certified by the Forest Stewardship Council - FSC). They are also working with organic wineries, Stellar, Laibach, Bon Cap and African Terroir for their bottles to be sealed with Forest Stewardship Council approved corks.

In South Africa, cork wine stoppers are still the most commonly stoppers used by the South African wine industry.

                                                         

Certification of forests through the FSC has led to significant improvement in the environmental management practices of the forestry sector worldwide. The wine industry also has negative environmental impacts and the certification idea has been carried to this sector through the development of the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative in South Africa. South Africa has also become the world's eighth largest producer of wine, contributing 3.5% of the global wine production. 90% of South Africa's wine is produced in the Cape Floral Kingdom (CFK).

 

"Since 2005, WWF, through The Green Trust, has been supporting this pioneering Initiative which is a collaboration between the South African wine industry and the Botanical Society of South Africa, aiming at minimizing the further loss of threatened natural habitat, and contributing to sustainable wine production, through the adoption of biodiversity guidelines by the South African wine industry. " says Brinkcate.

 

In September 2008, the BWI reached a major milestone with the area under conservation (over 104,000ha) now equal to the area of planted vineyard in the Cape Winelands. This conservation area has been set aside by 13 champions, who are exemplary producers achieving distinction in their conservation efforts, nine producer cellars and 107 members.

 

The role of cork and wine promoting sustainable use of forests will provide important guidelines to the forestry sector which contributes about R12 billion to South Africa's GDP. The cork industry worldwide is worth 1.5 billion EUR (R19 billion) while the wine industry currently contributes an estimated

R20 billion to the South African GDP.

 

"At a time of global financial and ecological credit crunch, FSC and BWI provide real opportunities to leverage South African wine producers and retailers to further improve their environmental sustainability by committing to using FSC cork stoppers, encouraging the cork sector to increase the supply of FSC certified cork, leading the way for the wine industry worldwide" concludes Brinkcate.