Greenpeace publishes forest certification research

03/07/2013

A series of case studies have been published by Greenpeace International to highlight the pluses and minuses of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) system, the global forest management certification programme.

Conceived in 1993, the FSC system allows organisations and members of the public to be able to easily identify products that come from responsibly managed forests. While the system remains the only credible certification system in existence at the moment, Greenpeace believes that it needs updating and improving in certain areas.

The fear that Greenpeace has is that, as the system has expanded, the implementation of FSC standards has been diluted. The body is now calling on the FSC to work to ensure that its reputation as a credible forest management certification programme remains protected.

Greenpeace International campaigner, Judy Rodrigues, told Scoop.co.nz: “Forest certification plays a valuable role in conserving the world’s forests, but as the FSC continues to expand in the marketplace, it must reassure consumers that its standards will be applied rigorously in all regions."

The charity has published a case study relating to good FSC-certified forest management practices, in which it focuses on the work of Ecotrust Canada in British Columbia, Canada. The organisation has a certificate covering a small group of forest managers located on Vancouver Island and in the Kootenays region, which means that wood will be extracted from these areas using low impact methods that serve to protect the forest.

Greenpeace has also published a case study which reveals the less positive side of the FSC system at present, focusing on the mismanagement by companies of ‘controlled wood’ in Scandinavia, which is threatening the survival of species and woodlands.

As the FSC has designated the entire region as “low risk” for all FSC-controlled wood categories, this has caused issues when managing the procurement of controlled wood across Scandinavia.