Vital Forest Graphics

Very little forest area

Forest area hectares 851 392 000

is certified

NORWAY

SWEDEN

FINLAND

RUSSIA

295 989 000

34 000

JAPAN

CHINA

BURMA

INDIA

accused of helping to fuel increased demand for forest products, instead of promoting the use of recycled wood or other alternative materials (FSC-Watch 2008). In countries where government ins- titutions and law enforcement mech- anisms are weak, certification cannot be expected to work properly and to lead to sustainable management of for- ests. Indeed, degradation of the world’s forests continues at an alarming rate. Some countries, such as Norway, have announced they simply will not pro- cure any tropical wood to be used for public buildings, certified or not. Nevertheless, increasing interest in green construction and procurement, and the use of biomass from forests for energy, suggests the demand for certi- fied wood will continue to increase. The question is whether wood grown using truly sustainable and socially respon- sible practices will be able to meet this increased demand.

DR CONGO

INDONESIA

NAMIBIA

AUSTRALIA

SOUTH AFRICA

Non certified forest

Certifications

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC)

ing of mahogany to the use of more abundant species. Despite such advances, however, only a small part of the world’s for- ests – approximately 300 million hect- ares or 7.6 per cent of the total – has been certified (Forest Certification Resource Center 2008). PEFC certi- fication accounts for approximately two-thirds of the total, with more than 200 million hectares of forests under its scheme. For the most part, certi- fication has been concentrated in the boreal forests of the more developed northern countries. Some 56 per cent of the world’s certified forest is located in North America, while approximately 34 per cent is in Europ e and CIS (ITTO 2008). The biggest challenge for certifica- tion is in developing countries, where deforestation of valuable tropical for- ests is occurring. Developing countries currently account for less than 10 per cent of the total area of certified forest globally, and half of that area is forest

plantation (Gulbrandsen 2006). Lack of awareness of certification programmes and a shortage of local technical capac- ity contribute to this geographic imbal- ance. Cost has also been identified as a barrier to certification, particularly for small landowners (i.e. 5-20 hectares) (Hansen et al . 2006) and community- based forest enterprises (Humphries and Kainer 2006) that are also unsure whether there will be a financial return on their certification investment. Some certifying organizations are attempt- ing to address cost and access issues by enabling group certifications. Meanwhile certification has come in for considerable criticism. Some schemes have been accused of allow- ing the fraudulent misuse of their eco-labels, of inadequate monitoring of profit-driven third-party certifying organizations, of accepting wood from mixed sources (i.e. certified and non- certified) and of certifying operations using unsustainable practices. More generally, certification has also been

See also pages 24, 26, 58

Trends in forest certification

VITAL FOREST GRAPHICS 55