YOUR SHOUT: Stephen Poliakoff: “We need to cork”

As an ambassador for WWF (formerly World Wildlife Fund), I would like to appeal to the UK wine trade to recognise the environmental and socioeconomic importance of cork oak forests before it is too late

Covering around 2.7 million hectares, these forests are unique to the Mediterranean region, which is one of the world’s top 25 biodiversity hotspots. Of significant economic importance to the region, wine bottle stoppers presently account for roughly 70% (in value) of the cork industry’s commercial market, yet this figure is likely to fall if current trends for alternative closures continue.

But this is not just a commercial issue, however. It affects the cork oak forests themselves but also one of the last remaining examples of a human/nature-balanced system. Humans take care of the forest as it provides their livelihood, which in turn reduces the risk of fire and desertification that can occur in unmanaged areas. Additionally, biodiversity is highest in those parts of the forests where human influence is felt through cork harvesting.

This biodiversity, reaching up to 135 plant species per square metre, includes numerous endemic species of flora and fauna and also many migratory birds en route to Africa. Furthermore, the forests play a vital role in preventing soil erosion, maintaining water resources as well as storing CO2.

As carbon uptake is greatest while the tree grows, harvested cork oak trees absorb three to five times more CO2 than unharvested ones.

It is this positive environmental impact, aside from the economic considerations, that WWF is urging the wine trade to consider in the debate on closures. “Green” issues have ceased to be an “optional extra”, and are now a mainstream consideration with very real and immediate ramifications. The decisions we make now could result in the decline of the cork industry which will put thousands of jobs at risk, threaten valuable forest habitats, contribute to global diversity loss and have an effect on carbon emissions.

Although there are a variety of closures currently on the market, corporate responsibility means the social and environmental impact of business practices must be taken into consideration. Cork being a natural closure, from a renewable source and benefiting from being recyclable and biodegradable, should therefore feature strongly on the agenda.

WWF has been working with the wine industry over the past year to raise awareness about the environmental importance of choosing cork as a wine closure. A report assessing the impact of the decrease of the cork stoppers market on cork oak landscapes, Cork Screwed?, was launched at the 2006 LIWSF.

To promote the value of cork products, WWF is working with the Forestry Stewardship Council to establish and promote an FSC label.   Concepts such as this will enable producers to provide FSC-labelled corks for consumer recognition.

FSC certification provides a recognisable and universal third-party assurance that the forest products come from a responsibly managed source. This assurance gives buyers and consumers the confidence that best practices are being employed.

At national levels, WWF has been lobbying governments to contribute to the long-term management of cork oak landscapes, including the positive use of subsidies. Already the Portuguese and Moroccan governments have committed to undertake FSC certification. In Tunisia, WWF is encouraging forest departments and local harvesters to learn and apply best harvesting techniques.

WWF is asking the wine trade to take a responsible approach to selecting closures and to choose cork, FSC-certified cork in particular, where possible.

The recently launched South African brand African Dawn, represented in the UK by Bottle Green, is an excellent example of this. WWF is currently developing a ‘responsible purchasing’ guide for cork products to ensure complete transparency of practice and to promote natural cork from FSC-certified origins.

As with any other sector, the wine industry is becoming increasingly concerned with environmental and social issues, and how corporate policies can reduce risks to nature and people. Consumers increasingly take personal responsibility for the environment and are driving retail decisions with regard to their carbon footprint and other issues.

Cork is now recognised within the global environmental debate. It is vital that, in turn, social and environmental responsibility is recognised within the closure debate. At risk is an entire landscape,

which plays an important environmental social and economic role in the Mediterranean. We need to take action now, so that we don’t lose these forests forever.

© db June 2007