Joint statement of Ukrainian, Belarussian and European environmental and human rights NGOs and activists
Russia, along with Belarus, is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine. The Russian military are firing missiles and bombs on urban settlements, killing hundreds of Ukrainian defenders and civilians, including children. The EU has called Belarus ”the other aggressor in this war” and ”complicit in the attacks” on Ukraine. The terrible toll of deaths and injuries will grow in the coming days, as fear, grief and anger continue to spread throughout Ukraine.
But we are not helpless. Both Russia and Belarus rely heavily on the export of timber and wood products. In 2021, the export of timber and wood products from the Russian Federation was $13.9 billion USD. Western countries are the major markets for this wood, either directly or indirectly, including the United States of America, the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, as well as countries such as Japan and China. Wood from these regions is used to make buildings, paper, clothes and furniture, and to fuel your power plants.
The financial resources the Russian and Belarussian governments gain from wood exports help to equip the Russian invaders, fuel their tanks and produce their bombs. Therefore, consuming Russian and Belorussian wood and timber products means supporting death and destruction in Ukraine. Besides all the other demands for support for Ukraine’s government, we, Ukrainian, Belarussian and European environmental and human rights NGOs and activists, appeal to all the governments of countries friendly to Ukraine: please, ban import of all types of Russian and Belorussian timber and wood products (including all paper products, furniture and furniture parts, pellets and sawn wood) now! While new sanctions on Belarus, announced by the EU in response to the Ukraine invasion, now include wood it is not clear that it includes all timber-both raw materials as well as higher processed goods like furniture.
We also appeal to international certification schemes, namely FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), SBP (Sustainable Biomass Programme) and PEFC (Programme for Enforsement of Forest Certification): please, wake up and terminate all forest management and chain of custody certificates for forest concessions and companies from both Russia and Belarus with immediate effect. Not a single stick of wood from these countries is sustainable when it is used to finance overwhelming destruction of a peaceful country.
We also affirm our support for all those affected by this attack, including those stranded at the Ukraine’s border and denied safe passage because of the colour of their skin.
We need your support right now! Please, stop Russia and save the free people of Ukraine!
This statement was supported by 120 non-governmental organizations in Ukraine and around the world.
