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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 / tasso@imaflora.org / 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!