Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T22:57:32.773Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Forest Certification and Forest Use

A Comprehensive Analysis

from Part I - Wicked Problems and Policies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2020

William Nikolakis
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
John L. Innes
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Get access

Summary

Forest certification, developed in 1993, is one means to resolve wicked forestry problems. This non-state market-driven process was highly anticipated to succeed in improving forest management, sustainability and governance, where regulation had fallen short. Forest certification has had substantial accomplishments and this chapter compares and analyses the two competing global forest certification schemes, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Wicked Problem of Forest Policy
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Sustainability in Forest Landscapes
, pp. 59 - 107
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AF&PA. 2016. AF&PA White Paper: Sustainable Forestry and Certification Programs in the United States. Washington, DC: American Forest and Paper Association. Available at: www.afandpa.org/docs/default-source/one-pagers/sustainable-forestry-and-certification-programs-in-the-united-states.pdf (accessed 30 October, 2016).Google Scholar
Araujo, M., Kant, S. and Couto, L.. 2009. Why Brazilian companies are certifying their forests? Forest Policy and Economics 11:579585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auld, G., Gulbrandsen, L. H. and McDermott, C. L.. 2008. Certification schemes and the impacts on forest and forestry. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 33:187211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barbosa de Lima, A., Novaes Keppe, A. L., Maule, F. E., et al. 2009. Does Certification Make a Difference? Impact Assessment Study on FSC/SAN Certification in Brazil. Available at: www.imaflora.org/arquivos/Does certification make_a_difference.pdfGoogle Scholar
Blackman, A. and Rivera, J.. 2011. Producer‐level benefits of sustainability certification. Conservation Biology 25(6):11761185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blackman, A., Raimondi, A. and Cubbage, F.. 2014. Does Forest Certification in Developing Countries Have Environmental Benefits? Discussion Paper RFF DP 14-06. Resources for the Future.Google Scholar
Blackman, A., Goff, L. T. and Rivera-Planter, M. 2015. Does Eco-certification Stem Tropical Deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council Certification in Mexico. Resources for the Future Discussion Paper, pp. 15–36.Google Scholar
Blackman, A., Raimondi, A. and Cubbage, F.. 2017. Does forest certification in developing countries have environmental benefits? Insights from Mexican corrective action requests. International Forestry Review 19(3):247264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloomfield, M. J. 2012. Is forest certification a hegemonic force? The FSC and its challengers. Journal of Environment & Development 21(4):391413.Google Scholar
Bouslah, K., M’Zali, B., Turcotte, M.-F. and Kooli, M.. 2010. The impact of forest certification on firm financial performance in Canada and the U.S. Journal of Business Ethics 96(4):551572.Google Scholar
Burns, S. L., Yapura, P. F. and Giessen, L.. 2016. State actors and international forest certification policy: coalitions behind FSC and PEFC in federal Argentina. Land Use Policy 52:2329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carle, J. and Holmgren, P.. 2008. Wood from planted forests: a global outlook 2005-2030. Forest Products Journal 58(12):618.Google Scholar
Carlson, A. and Palmer, C.. 2016. A qualitative meta-synthesis of the benefits of eco-labeling in developing countries. Ecological Economics 127:129145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cashore, B., Auld, G. and Newsom, D.. 2004. Governing Through Markets: Forest Certification and the Emergence of Non-State Authority. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Cashore, B., Auld, G., Bernstein, S. and McDermott, C.. 2007. Can non‐state governance ‘ratchet up’ global environmental standards? Lessons from the forest sector. Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 16(2):158172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caulfield, J. P., Chambers, R. K. and Fields, C. T.. 2001. Green certification and the future of family forests. Forest Landowner 60(6):1620.Google Scholar
Cerutti, P. O, Lescuyer, G., Tsanga, R., et al. 2014. Social Impacts of the Forest Stewardship Council Certification: An Assessment in the Congo Basin. Occasional Paper 103. Bogor, Indonesia: CIFOR.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Innes, J. L. and Tikina, A.. 2010. Private cost-benefits of voluntary forest product certification. International Forestry Review 12(1):112.Google Scholar
Clark, M. R. and Kozar, J. S.. 2016. Comparing sustainable forest management certification standards: a meta-analysis. Ecology and Society 16(1): Article 3.Google Scholar
Climate for Ideas (United Kingdom), Forests of the World (Denmark), Dogwood Alliance (United States), Hnutí DUHA (Friends of the Earth Czech Republic), Les Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth France), Greenpeace, Sierra Club of British Columbia, Suomen Luonnonsuojeluliitto (Finnish Association for Nature Conservation), Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples. 2011. On the ground 2011: The controversies of PEFC and SFI. Available at: https://www.dogwoodalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/On-The-Ground-17_10_11.pdf (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Coniff, R. 2018. Greenwashed Timber: How Sustainable Forest Certification Has Failed. Yale Environment 360. Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. 20 February, 2018. Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/features/greenwashed-timber-how-sustainable-forest-certification-has-failed (accessed 15 March 2018).Google Scholar
Coria, J. and Sterner, T.. 2011. Natural resource management: challenges and policy options. Annual Review of Resource Economics 3:203230.Google Scholar
Cubbage, F., Moore, S., Henderson, T. and Araujo, M.. 2009. Costs and benefits of forest certification in the Americas. Pages 155183 in Paulding, J. B., editor. Natural Resources: Management, Economic Development and Protection. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Publishers.Google Scholar
Cubbage, F., Diaz, D., Yapura, P. and Dube, F.. 2010. Impacts of forest management certification in Argentina and Chile. Forest Policy and Economics 12:497504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cubbage, F., O’Laughlin, J. and Peterson, N.. 2017. Natural Resource Policy. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.Google Scholar
Dare, M. (Lain), Schirmer, J. and Vanclay, F.. 2011. Does forest certification enhance community engagement in Australian plantation management? Forest Policy and Economics 13:328337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebeling, J. and Yasue, M.. 2009. The effectiveness of market-based conservation in the tropics: forest certification in Ecuador and Bolivia. Journal of Environmental Management 90(2):11451153.Google Scholar
Elbakidze, M., Angelstam, P., Andersson, K., Nordberg, M. and Pautov, Y.. 2011. How does forest certification contribute to boreal biodiversity conservation? Forest Ecology and Management 262:19831995.Google Scholar
Ethical Consumer. 2018. Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). Available at: www.ethicalconsumer.org/researchhub/ethicalaccreditation/programmefortheendorsementofforestcertification.aspx (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Euler, D. 2014. A comparison of avian habitat in forest management plans produced under three different certification systems in Ontario, Canada. Wildlife Society Bulletin 38(1):142147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO. 2015. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015: How Are the World’s Forests Changing? Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Google Scholar
Fernholz, K., Bowyer, J., Stai, S., Bratkovich, S. and Howe, J.. 2011. Differences between the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Certification Standards for Forest Management. Minneapolis, MN: Dovetail Partners. Available at: www.dovetailinc.org (accessed 28 July, 2016).Google Scholar
Fernholz, K., Bowyer, J., Bratkovich, S., et al. 2015. Forest Certification Update: Changes to the SFI and FSC Standards in 2015. Minneapolis, MN: Dovetail Partners. Available at: www.dovetailinc.org (accessed 28 July, 2016).Google Scholar
Ferraro, P. J. 2009. Counterfactual thinking and impact evaluation in environmental policy. New Directions in Evaluation 2009:7584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 2014. Costs and Benefits of Forest Certification. Available at: http://us.fsc.org/download.costs-and-benefits-of-forest-certification.198.htm (accessed 15 April, 2014).Google Scholar
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) 2015. International Generic Indicators, FSC-STD-60-004 V1–0 EN. Available at: file:///G:/Paper/Certification_Wicked/FSC-STD-60-004%20V1–0%20EN%20International%20Generic%20Indicators.pdf (accessed 25 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 2018a. Facts and Figures. Available at: https://ic.fsc.org/en/facts-and-figures (accessed 25 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 2018b. Family Forests. Available at: https://us.fsc.org/en-us/certification/forest-management-certification/family-forests (accessed 25 March, 2018).Google Scholar
FSC Watch. 2018. The 10 Worst Things about the Forest Stewardship Council. Available at: https://fsc-watch.com/2014/06/01/the-10-worst-things-about-the-forest-stewardship-council/ (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Foster, M., Peterson, M. N., Cubbage, F. and McMahon, G.. 2019. Evaluation of natural resource planning in longleaf pine systems. Forest Policy and Economics 100:142153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
García-Montiel, E., Cubbage, F., Rojo-Alboreca, A., et al. 2017. An analysis of non-state and state approaches for forest certification in Mexico. Forests 8: Article 290.Google Scholar
Greenpeace International. 2014. Weaker Certification Schemes. Available at: http://m.greenpeace.org/international/en/mid/campaigns/forests/solutions/alternatives-to-forest-destruc/Weaker-Certification-Schemes/ (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Gulbrandsen, L. H. 2005. The effectiveness of non-state governance schemes: a comparative study of forest certification in Norway and Sweden. International Environmental Agreements 5:125149.Google Scholar
Hagan, J., Irland, L. and Whitman, A. 2005. Changing Timberland Ownership in the Northern Forest and Implications for Biodiversity. Report MCCS-FCP-2005-1. Brunswick, ME: Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.Google Scholar
Humphreys, D. 2006. LogJam: Deforestation and the Crisis of Global Governance. Earthscan Forestry Library. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.Google Scholar
Johansson, J. and Lidestav, G.. 2011. Can voluntary standards regulate forestry? Assessing the environmental impacts of forest certification in Sweden. Forest Policy and Economics 13:191198.Google Scholar
Kalonga, S. K. and Kulindwa, K. A.. 2017. Does forest certification enhance livelihood conditions? Empirical evidence from forest management in Kilwa District, Tanzania. Forest Policy and Economics 74:4961.Google Scholar
Kalonga, S. K., Midtgaard, F. and Eid, T.. 2015. Does forest certification enhance forest structure? Empirical evidence from certified community-based forest management in Kilwa District, Tanzania. International Forestry Review 17(2):182194.Google Scholar
Kalonga, S. K., Midtgaard, F. and Klanderud, K.. 2016. Forest certification as a policy option in conserving biodiversity: an empirical study of forest management in Tanzania. Forest Ecology and Management 361:112.Google Scholar
Korhonen, J., Toppinen, A., Kuuluvainen, J., Prestemon, J. and Cubbage, F.. 2016. Recycling, certification, and international trade of paper and paperboard: demand in Germany and the United States. Forest Science 63(5):449458.Google Scholar
Kukkonen, M., Rita, H., Hohnwald, S. and Nygren, A.. 2008. Treefall gaps of certified, conventionally managed and natural forests as regeneration sites for Neotropical timber trees in northern Honduras. Forest Ecology and Management 255(7):21632176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lachapelle, P. R., McCool, S. F. and Patterson, M. E.. 2003. Barriers to effective natural resource planning in a "messy" world. Society & Natural Resources 16(6):473490.Google Scholar
Lang, C. 2016. Certified Nonsense. Available at: https://newint.org/features/2016/04/01/sustainable-forestry (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Lee, M. 2009. Can we trust the FSC? Ecologist. Available at: https://theecologist.org/2009/sep/22/can-we-trust-fsc (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Li, N. and Toppinen, A.. 2011. Corporate responsibility and sustainable competitive advantage in the forest-based industry: complementary or conflicting goals? Forest Policy and Economics 13(1):113123.Google Scholar
Lidestav, G. and Berg Lejon, S.. 2011. Forest certification as an instrument for improved forest management within small-scale forestry. Small-Scale Forestry 10(4):401418.Google Scholar
Lister, J. 2011. Corporate Social Responsibility and the State: International Approaches to Forest Co-regulation. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Maraseni, T. N., Son, H. L., Cockfield, G., Duy, H. V. and Dai Nghia, T.. 2017. Comparing the financial returns from acacia plantations with different plantation densities and rotation ages in Vietnam. Forest Policy and Economics 83:8087.Google Scholar
Masters, M., Tikina, A. and Larson, B.. 2010. Forest certification audit results as potential changes in forest management in Canada. The Forestry Chronicle 86(4):455460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, C. L. 2012. Trust, legitimacy and power in forest certification: a case study of the FSC in British Columbia. Geoforum 43:634644.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDermott, C. L., Irland, L. C. and Pacheco, P.. 2015. Forest certification and legality initiatives in the Brazilian Amazon: lessons for effective and equitable forest governance. Forest Policy and Economics 50:134142.Google Scholar
Medjibe, V., Putz, F. E. and Romero, C.. 2013. Certified and uncertified logging concessions compared in Gabon: changes in stand structure, tree species, and biomass. Environmental Management 51:524540.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mendell, B., Lang, A. H., Caldwell, W. and Garrett, D. L.. 2015. Chemical use and forest certification: productivity and economic implications. Journal of Forestry 113(4):367371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meridian Institute. 2001. Comparative Analysis of the Forest Stewardship Council© and Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Certification Programs. Available at: http://www2.merid.org/comparison/ (accessed 14 July, 2003).Google Scholar
Miteva, D.A., Loucks, C. J. and Pattanayak, S. K.. 2015. Social and environmental impacts of forest management certification in Indonesia. PloS One 10: Article e0129675.Google Scholar
Moore, S., Cubbage, F. and Eicheldinger, C.. 2012. Impacts of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) forest certification in North America. Journal of Forestry 110(2):7988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nebel, G., Quevedo, L., Bredahl, J., Jacobsen, J. and Helles, F.. 2005. Development and economic significance of forest certification: the case of FSC in Bolivia. Forest Policy and Economics 7(2):175186.Google Scholar
Newsom, D and Hewitt, D.. 2005. The Global Impacts of SmartWood Certification. New York: Rainforest Alliance.Google Scholar
Newsom, D., Bahn, V. and Cashore, B.. 2006. Does forest certification matter? An analysis of operation-level changes required during the SmartWood certification process in the United States. Forest Policy and Economics 9:197208.Google Scholar
Nordén, A., Coria, J. and Villalobos, L.. 2016. Evaluation of the Impact of Forest Certification on Environmental Outcomes in Sweden. Available at: https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/2077/44417/1/gupea_2077_44417_1.pdf (accessed 30 March, 2018).Google Scholar
Nussbaum, R. and Simula, M.. 2005. The Forest Certification Handbook, 2nd edn. London: Earth Scan Publications Ltd.Google Scholar
Oddendal, H. 2018. Future Demands on Timber – What Does the Public Want? Presented at the International Forest Business Conference, Gdansk, Poland, 6–8 June, 2018.Google Scholar
Overdevest, C. 2010. Comparing forest certification schemes: the case of ratcheting standards in the forest sector. Socio-Economic Review 8:4776.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Panlasigui, S., Rico-Staffron, J., Swenson, J., Loucks, C. J. and Pfaff, A.. 2015. Early Days in the Certification of Logging Concessions: Estimating FSC’s Deforestation Impact in Peru & Cameroon. Nicholas Institute, Duke University, NC (Working Paper Draft).Google Scholar
Payn, T., Carnus, J.-M., Freer-Smith, P., et al. 2015. Changes in planted forests and future global implications. Forest Ecology and Management 352:5767.Google Scholar
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). 2017. PEFC Global Statistics: SFM & CoC Certification. Available at: www.pefc.org/ (accessed 14 January, 2018).Google Scholar
Pena-Claros, M., Blommerde, S. and Bongers, F.. 2009. Assessing the Progress Made: An Evaluation of Forest Management Certification in the Tropics. Tropical Resource Management Papers 95, Wageningen University, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Rametsteiner, E. and Simula, M.. 2003. Forest certification: an instrument to promote sustainable forest management? Journal of Environmental Management 67:8798.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rana, P. and Sills, E. O.. 2018. Does certification change the trajectory of tree cover in working forests in the tropics? An application of the synthetic control method of impact evaluation. Forests 9(3): Article 98.Google Scholar
Rickenbach, M. and Overdevest, C.. 2006. More than markets: assessing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification as a policy tool. Journal of Forestry 104(3):143147.Google Scholar
Roberge, A., Bouthiller, L. and Boiral, O.. 2011. The influence of forest certification on environmental performance: an analysis of certified companies in the province of Quebec (Canada). Canadian Journal of Forest Research 41:661668.Google Scholar
Romero, C., Sills, E. O., Guariguata, M. R., et al. 2017. Evaluation of the impacts of FSC certification of natural forest management in the tropics: a rigorous approach to assessment of a complex conservation intervention. International Forestry Review 19(4):3649.Google Scholar
Rotherham, T. 2016. Forest certification: trends and turbulence. CFI January/February 2016:20–23.Google Scholar
Schlyter, P., Stjernquist, I. and Backstrand, K.. 2009. Not seeing the forest for the trees? The environmental effectiveness of forest certification in Sweden. Forest Policy and Economics 11:375382.Google Scholar
Schreiber, J. 2012. A Cost Benefit Analysis of Forest Certification at the Forestland Group. Available at: http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/handle/10161/6026 (accessed 15 April, 2015).Google Scholar
Schulze, M., Grogan, J., and Vidal, E.. 2008. Forest certification in Amazonia: standards matter. Oryx 42(2):229239.Google Scholar
Sequeira, V. and Louman, B.. 2004. Retos y oportunidades para una mejor aplicación de los estandares de certificación del manejo forestal en América Latina. Recursos Naturales y Ambiente 42:6068.Google Scholar
Simpson, H., Donnellan, J. and Harrington, S.. 2005. Voluntary Implementation of Best Management Practices in East Texas: Results from Round 6 of BMP Implementation Monitoring. College Station, TX: Texas Forest Service. Available at: http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/shared/article.asp?DocumentID=950&mc=forestGoogle Scholar
Simpson, H., Donellan, J., Duncan, C. and Harrington, S.. 2007. Voluntary Implementation of Forestry Best Management Practices in East Texas: Results from Round 7 of BMP Implementation Monitoring 2007–2008. College Station, TX: Texas Forest Service Station.Google Scholar
Sundstrom, L. M. and Henry, L. A.. 2017. Private forest governance, public policy impacts: the Forest Stewardship Council in Russia and Brazil. Forests 8(11): Article 445.Google Scholar
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). 2016. SFI Standard 2015–2019. Available at: www.sfiprogram.org/sfi-standard/ (accessed 31 October, 2016).Google Scholar
Tuppura, A., Toppinen, A. and Puumalainen, K.. 2016. Forest certification and ISO 14001: current state and motivation in forest companies. Business Strategy and the Environment 25:355368.Google Scholar
Van Deusen, P., Bentley Wigley, T. and Lucier, A. A.. 2010. Some indirect costs of forest certification. Forestry 83(4):389394.Google Scholar
Vardaman, J. 2001. The Effect of These Voluntary Restrictions on Those Who Want to Make Money Growing Trees. Formerly available online at: www.vardaman.com/greensheets/sfi.htm (accessed 1 September, 2003).Google Scholar
Villalobos, L., Coria, J. and Nordén, A.. 2018. Has forest certification reduced forest degradation in Sweden? Land Economics 93(3):390412.Google Scholar
Vogel, D. 2007. Private global business regulation. Annual Review of Political Science 11:261282.Google Scholar
World Rainforest Movement (WRM). 2018. Available at: http://wrm.org.uy/ (accessed 15 March, 2018).Google Scholar
World Wildlife Federation–European Forest Programme (WWF-EFP). 2005. The Effects of FSC Certification in Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Russia, Sweden and the UK: An Analysis of Corrective Action Requests Summary Report. Washington, DC: World Wildlife Federation.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×