Forest Certification Issues Opportunities and Challenges for Sus

Introduction • What is forest certification? • Where did the idea come from? •

What is Forest Management Certification? • A process in which an independent organisation verifies

What does it mean? • It’s about a lot more than just timber production

What does it mean? – Conservation of archaeological and cultural heritage – Access and

Where has the idea come from? • Growing awareness of the importance of forests

Genesis • Environmental concerns of consumers • Failure of governments to address deforestation •

Europe Some certification initiatives • FSC – – – – – Belgium Denmark Germany

Americas Some certification initiatives & • FSC – – – – Canada USA Mexico

Existing certification schemes • Sustainable Forestry Initiative (AF&PA, USA) • Canadian Standards Association •

Certified Forests in the World by Scheme ( July 2003) 11

Case: Origin of FSC Governmental initiatives failed Campaigns to boycott forest products did not

The Solution = Certification • Produce an acceptable definition of good forest management -

Risks of Certification • Costs of adapting to improved management may not be absorbed

Opportunities in the context of Sus Dev’t • Enhances of multiple forest benefits in

Challenges in the context of Sus Dev’t • Lack of adequate capacity to understand

Key Issues • How do we improve understanding of certification among information providers? •

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Forest Certification: Issues, Opportunities and Challenges for Sus Dev’t Frontiers in Forest Centenary Conference St Anne’s College, Oxford December 6, 2005 Ishmael Dodoo Project Manager, Pro. Forest 1

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 2

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. 3

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 4

What does it mean? – Conservation of archaeological and cultural heritage – Access and recreation – Protection of water resources – Supporting rural development 5

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 6

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 7

Europe 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 8

Americas Some certification initiatives & • FSC – – – – Canada USA Mexico Colombia Bolivia Brazil Chile Nicaragua • Others – – – Asia Canada (CSA) USA (SFI) Chile Brazil (Cerflor) Malaysia (MTCC) Indonesia (LEI) 9

Existing certification schemes • Sustainable Forestry Initiative (AF&PA, USA) • Canadian Standards Association • Pan European Forest Certification Scheme • Forest Stewardship Council • Finnish Forest Certification System 10

Certified Forests in the World by Scheme ( July 2003) 11

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 Autor: Tasso Azevedo / tasso@imaflora. org / p 991151 e Source: GTZ

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 13

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. 14

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 • Market of a given region prioritizes the non-certified product Source: GTZ 15

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 16

Challenges in the context of Sus Dev’t • Lack of adequate capacity to understand 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 17

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? 18

Thank You! 19