Forest Certification

Forest certification is a means of ensuring that forests continue to provide ecosystem services and social benefits long-term in a way that is credible to consumers who are involved in the supply chains of products that come out of forests. This became an issue with rampant deforestation in the 1970s and 1980s due to timber extraction, as well as the establishment of plantations of fast-growing exotic species in tropical areas. Multi-stakeholder initiatives are necessary to oversee the implementation of industrial product certifications to ensure that they are truly sustainable, where different interests get together to agree on criteria for certification. Two major certification schemes are the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (1999) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) created in 1993. There are nine global principles that are adopted for natural forests that are regulated by social, industrial, and environmental chambers. Certifications may be important to get into the market, as well as to observe local and national law.

This video is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license.