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Forest Certification: Issues, Opportunities and Challenges for
Sus Dev’t
Frontiers in Forest Centenary ConferenceSt Anne’s College, Oxford
December 6, 2005
Ishmael DodooProject Manager, ProForest
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Introduction
• What is forest certification?• Where did the idea come from?• Existing certification schemes• Case study: origin of FSC• Risks, opportunities and challenges• Key issues for consideration
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What is Forest Management Certification?
• A process in which an independent organisation verifies that a forest holding is being managed in accordance with a specified standard.
• A means of informing customers and consumers about the origins of raw materials used in products.
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What does it mean?
• It’s about a lot more than just timber production– Sustainable production of timber and
non-timber forest products– Conservation and enhancement of
landscape– Conservation and enhancement of
biodiversity
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What does it mean?
– Conservation of archaeological and cultural heritage
– Access and recreation– Protection of water resources– Supporting rural development
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Where has the idea come from?
• Growing awareness of the importance of forests for sustainable development
• Concern about the destruction and misuse of global forest resources
• Growing demand to broaden forest and forestry industry values to include social and environmental as well as economic values
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Genesis
• Environmental concerns of consumers
• Failure of governments to address deforestation
• Failure of boycotts of tropical timber to stop deforestation
• Environmental competitiveness in marketing mix
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Some certification initiatives
• FSC– Belgium– Denmark– Germany– Ireland– Netherlands– Poland– Sweden– Switzerland– United Kingdom
• PEFC– Austria – Finland– France– Germany– Ireland– Latvia– Norway– Portugal– Spain– Sweden– Switzerland
Europe
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• FSC– Canada– USA– Mexico– Colombia– Bolivia– Brazil– Chile– Nicaragua
• Others– Canada (CSA)– USA (SFI)– Chile– Brazil (Cerflor)– Malaysia (MTCC)– Indonesia (LEI)
Americas
&
Asia
Some certification initiatives
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Existing certification schemes
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative (AF&PA,USA)
• Canadian Standards Association• Pan European Forest Certification
Scheme• Forest Stewardship Council• Finnish Forest Certification System
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Certified Forests in the World by Scheme ( July 2003)
Certified Forests in the world by Scheme (2003) - millions of ha
21.9 FFCS
FSC 36.9
SFI 29.9
CSA 17.4
PEFC 47.7
Autor: Tasso Azevedo / [email protected] / p991151e
Case: Origin of FSC Governmental initiatives failed
Campaigns to boycott forest products did not have the expected effect
Certification is an alternative
Proliferation of labels
Source: GTZ
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Different interest groups
• Retailers: want to sell products and protect brand name
• Forest products industry: want to sell timber and paper products
• ENGOs: want to protect forests• Forest owners and managers: want
to make a living
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The Solution = Certification
• Produce an acceptable definition of good forest management - a standard;
• Develop a credible system to assess which forests meet the standard - certification;
• Source products from certified forests.
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• Market of a given region prioritizes the non-certified product
Risks of Certification
• Costs of adapting to improved management may not be absorbed
• Not receiving approval in the assessment and remaining exposed to criticism
• Not being able to maintain the certificate
Source: GTZ
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Opportunities in the context of Sus Dev’t
• Enhances of multiple forest benefits in environmental, social and economic terms
• Improves corporate social responsibility performance
• Improves resource governance and participatory forest management
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Challenges in the context of Sus Dev’t
• Lack of adequate capacity to understand and implement certification
• Certification is very expensive and does not always guarantee sustainability
• Understanding of Sus. Dev’t is not fully developed; linkages with certification is not always clear
• Forest managers do not always think Sus. Dev’t
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Key Issues
• How do we improve understanding of certification among information providers?
• How do we package certification/SFM info to make them relevant and useable by practitioners?
• How do we identify key thematic certification/ SFM issues for policy debate?
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Thank You!
