Certification Schemes and the Impacts on Forests and Forestry

Auld, Graeme; Gulbrandsen, Lars H.; McDermott, Constance L.

doi:10.1146/annurev.environ.33.013007.103754

Cited by 387 publications

(194 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…This circumstance should take into account the reality of the region in which the study case is located since some incentives have been offered by the forest industry to more or less subsidize the cost of the FSC certification. This type of incentive for certifications is extensively documented in the literature [60] and, in this case, is usually between 5-8% of the price of the timber, which is higher than what some authors consider as being acceptable for forest owners to invest in forest certification schemes in Europe [10].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Certifying Forests to Achieve Sustainability in Industrial Plantations: Opinions of Stakeholders in Spain

Dı́az-Balteiro

Jalón

2017

Forests

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Forest certification is a practice that has been consolidated worldwide in recent years as a result of certification often being associated with sustainability. However, there is not much research available on the perception of stakeholders and experts of that association. This study evaluates how key stakeholders relate certification to sustainability, and its implications for forest management. A survey was implemented in the eucalyptus plantations of Galicia, northwestern Spain, to assess how forest managers; advisors; environmental organizations; researchers; and members from the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), PEFC (the Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification), and forest companies and associations, perceive this relationship. The opinions indicate that it should not be assumed that certified plantations are necessarily perceived as the most sustainable ones, that there is always a direct relationship between certification, nor that forest owners and managers certify their woodlands in order to guarantee sustainability. The results also showed that perceptions of certification and sustainability were not influenced by the opinions of different groups of stakeholders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Certifying Forests to Achieve Sustainability in Industrial Plantations: Opinions of Stakeholders in Spain

Dı́az-Balteiro

Jalón

2017

Forests

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“…Thus, forest certification was initially introduced as a voluntary mechanism by environmental groups to ameliorate the consequences of tropical deforestation and forest degradation [4]. Forest certification, a mechanism based on third-party auditing of compliance with established standards, was quickly accepted as a means to promote sustainable forest management [5][6][7] and directly influenced forest management practices [8][9][10][11]. Through certification as a soft policy instrument [12,13], it is possible to provide credible assurance to customers about the effective compliance of forest management with sound social, environmental, and economic principles [14][15][16].…”

Section: Forest Certification and Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems

et al. 2018

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Forest certification as a voluntary verification tool has been providing an independent assessment of sustainable forestry practices and thus confidence in sustainability benchmarks for over 20 years. Using either the international or national approaches and initiatives, two main forest certification systems, PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), have spread in a number of countries worldwide. The specifics of local conditions in the forestry sector have to be taken into account when implementing the certification context in a given country or a region. Apart from the natural conditions, institutional structure, or legislative framework, it is also the local and national stakeholders and their perception of this issue that provides the background for the implementation of the certification criteria. The main objective of this study is to examine the general understanding of the certification concept as an environmental, economic, and social tool, and to determine the incentives of forest owners in Slovakia for sustainable forest management (SFM) certification. In addition, the benefits and problems arising from participation in certification were identified and differences reflecting the ownership structure of forests, size of forest area, and participation in a particular certification programme were analysed. Results indicate that certified forest owners, unlike non-certified, demonstrated a high level of understanding of the SFM certification concept. Certified entities mainly consider forest certification as their commitment to environmental responsibility and a tool for improving external company image, promoting sustainable utilisation of forest resources, and improving forest management practices. The main benefits are linked to the possibility to demonstrate forest management practices, a better understanding of the forest management concept, and improvement of forest management practices. PEFC users perceive more benefits following from certification; the most important are those associated with non-economic values, while FSC-certified forest owners perceive mainly economic benefits connected to market penetration, increased sales volume, and potential price premiums. The key problems associated with certification relate to duties to ensure compliance with certification criteria by contractors and administrative difficulties. Respondents reported minimum price premiums for the sale of their certified timber. Additionally, the findings of the study pointed out that a nationally developed certification system can better recognise the roles and objectives of forest certification in the context of forest policy.

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“…Forest certification creates awareness about using products from sustainably managed forests and adopts sustainable consumption patterns; it also helps the banning of products from uncertified forests and thereby reduces illegal harvesting. This will eventually lead to sustainable forest management [64]. For example, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Pan European Forest Certification (PEFC) are major forest certification initiatives in tropical and temperate countries [65].…”

Section: Sustainable Forest Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Governing Forest Ecosystem Services for Sustainable Environmental Governance: A Review

Adhikari

Baral²

2018

Environments

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Governing forest ecosystem services as a forest socio-ecological system is an evolving concept in the face of different environmental and social challenges. Therefore, different modes of ecosystem governance such as hierarchical, scientific-technical, and adaptive-collaborative governance have been developed. Although each form of governance offers important features, no one form on its own is sufficient to attain sustainable environmental governance (SEG). Thus, the blending of important features of each mode of governance could contribute to SEG, through a combination of both hierarchical and collaborative governance systems supported by scientifically and technically aided knowledge. This should be further reinforced by the broad engagement of stakeholders to ensure the improved well-being of both ecosystems and humans. Some form of governance and forest management measures, including sustainable forest management, forest certification, and payment for ecosystem services mechanisms, are also contributing to that end. While issues around commodification and putting a price on nature are still contested due to the complex relationship between different services, if these limitations are taken into account, the governance of forest ecosystem services will serve as a means of effective environmental governance and the sustainable management of forest resources. Therefore, forest ecosystem services governance has a promising future for SEG, provided limitations are tackled with due care in future governance endeavors.

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Certification Schemes and the Impacts on Forests and Forestry

Cited by 387 publications

References 55 publications

Certifying Forests to Achieve Sustainability in Industrial Plantations: Opinions of Stakeholders in Spain

Certifying Forests to Achieve Sustainability in Industrial Plantations: Opinions of Stakeholders in Spain

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems

Governing Forest Ecosystem Services for Sustainable Environmental Governance: A Review

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