Certification of tropical forests: A private instrument of public interest? A focus on the Congo Basin

Karsenty, Alain

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2019.101974

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Nevertheless, two phenomena still feed the indifference of governments in wood‐producing states towards private certification. On the one hand, an increasing proportion of timber is being traded to less discerning Asian markets (Karsenty, 2019). On the other hand, several components of forest governance were only marginally affected by the debate and implementation of private certification, such as existence of corruption, law enforcement or regulatory complexity (Lescuyer, 2006; Richards, 2004).…”

Section: Analytical Framework To Assess Fsc Influence On Forest Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of FSC certification on the governance of the logging sector in the Congo basin

Lescuyer

Tsanga

Nziengui³

et al. 2021

Natural Resources Forum

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The performance of private forest governance systems, such as the standard and approach developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), is often assessed at the local level although they also have an indirect influence on public policies at the national level. Such spillover effects must be understood to assess the effectiveness of certification in contributing to improved forest governance. With this purpose, this article analyses the influences of the implementation of FSC standards on changes in forest governance in Cameroon, Congo and Gabon based on perceptions of 43 “knowledgeable” actors of FSC natural forest management. The information was collected through the use of semi‐open and open interviews, and rankings. Findings show that perceived FSC influence on forest governance has followed two pathways: (a) a clear impact on stakeholder participation and timber traceability; and (b) a limited impact on improving national governance, as illustrated by the lack of global improvement in resource management practices or in biodiversity conservation. Moreover, interviewees agreed that struggles against corruption and transparency have not been impacted by the FSC certification in the Congo Basin. This mitigated influence of FSC on forest governance is first explained by a limited spillover effect of the virtuous practices of the seven FSC‐certified companies on the national logging sector. Secondly, progress in FSC certification has been little taken up by public policies, which remain the main leverage for action on forest governance in producing countries.

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Section: Analytical Framework To Assess Fsc Influence On Forest Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of FSC certification on the governance of the logging sector in the Congo basin

Lescuyer

Tsanga

Nziengui³

et al. 2021

Natural Resources Forum

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“…specific regions (Karsenty, 2019). In addition, Europe is an efficient producer of certified wood itself and can fulfil the remaining demand for certified wood itself.…”

Section: Trade Barriermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, this paper finds a partial redirection of trade flows towards Asia. This is a problematic in terms of the price premium to be expected in future as Karsenty (2019) describes how the wood markets' in this region are not yet ready to pay a price premium for legal-or eco-certified wood.…”

Section: Price Premium As Incentive For Certificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, previous research predominantly investigates the impact of the EUTR at country-level (e.g. Brusselaers and Buysse (2018), Karsenty (2019), Andong and Ongolo (2020), or Hasyim et al (2020)). Standalone case studies are not appropriate to investigate the EUTR's leverage effect since different regions' wood markets are 'increasingly linked through international trade and global environmental policies' (Raunikar et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Legality requirements for wood import in the EU: Who wins, who loses?

Brusselaers

Buysse

2021

Forest Policy and Economics

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“…The FSC-certification engages the logging concession for the recognition of user rights of local populations, among other standards ensuring economic effectiveness, ecological integrity, and social equity [62]. The forest area allocated to FSC-certified logging concessions has, however, recently declined in Cameroon [63]. Community forests are small forest areas centered on villages and along roads, for which the management is decentralized at the scale of rural communities [58].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying the Use of Forest Ecosystem Services by Local Populations in Southeastern Cameroon

et al. 2020

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In order to improve sustainability and design adequate management strategies in threatened tropical forests, integrated assessments of the use of ecosystem services are needed, combining biophysical, social, and economic approaches. In particular, no integrated ecosystem services (ES) assessment has been conducted in Central Africa, where rural communities deeply depend on forests in a high-poverty context. Here, we aimed to quantify the use of ES provided by tropical forests to local populations in the Dja area (Cameroon), identify its determinants and evaluate its sustainability. We conducted various interviews and field surveys with 133 households in three villages, focusing on three provisioning services (bushmeat, firewood, and timber), and five cultural services (cultural heritage, inspiration, spiritual experience, recreation, and education). Local populations consumed a mean of 56 kg of bushmeat/person/year (hunting zones covering on average 213 km2), 1.17 m3 of firewood/person/year (collection zones covering on average 4 km2), and 0.03 m3 of timber/person/year. Between 25% and 86% of respondents considered cultural services as important. The use of ES was mainly influenced by population size, deforestation rate, and forest allocations, whereas the influence of socio-demographic characteristics of households remained limited to slight differences between Baka and Bantu people. We conclude that the consumption of firewood and timber is sustainable, whereas high hunting pressure has resulted in severe defaunation in the area due to the large decline in the abundance and biomass of forest mammals hunted for bushmeat by local populations.

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Certification of tropical forests: A private instrument of public interest? A focus on the Congo Basin

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

Influence of FSC certification on the governance of the logging sector in the Congo basin

Influence of FSC certification on the governance of the logging sector in the Congo basin

Legality requirements for wood import in the EU: Who wins, who loses?

Quantifying the Use of Forest Ecosystem Services by Local Populations in Southeastern Cameroon

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