1st Edition

The Forest Certification Handbook

By Kogan Page Ltd. Copyright 1996
    240 Pages
    by CRC Press

    240 Pages
    by CRC Press

    The last decade saw dramatic concern for forest problems. The future decades will witness an even more dramatic interest. Certification of forests provides a guarantee to buyers of timber products that their purchases come from well-managed forests that will not support unsustainable or inequitable practices. This produces multiple advantages to those with stakes in the entire chain of production, not the least of which is justification of their pricing. The Forest Certification Handbook is the first book to fully assess the role of certification and provide practical advice on developing, selecting and operating a program.
    The most critical role of certification is providing an incentive to forest owners and managers to raise the standard of their forest management. With international and national initiatives supporting specific principles for forest management and means of quality assessment taking place, The Forest Certification Handbook is the only published guide of its kind to eliminate any confusion. Here, in clear, exacting language, is all of the information you will need to complete a certification program.

    Introduction
    Part 1 Certification in Context
    Forest Problems
    Market and policy failures within and outside the forestry sector
    Institutional failures
    Weak and/or inappropriate tenure
    Competing Stakeholder Interests and the Goal of Sustainability
    Competing stakeholder interests
    The goal of sustainable forest management
    Policy Requirements
    National level
    International level
    Standards
    External and internal standards
    How standards are set by ISO
    Existing initiatives in standard setting
    Remaining dilemmas in standard-setting
    Where Certification Fits
    Certification: A market-based instrument
    Forest needs and certification's possible role
    Part 2 Certification in Practice
    Design Issues
    The importance on environmental management systems at the LFMU level
    Accreditation
    The certification body
    How Certification Works in Practice
    Selection of the appropriate forest area
    Application
    Scoping visit
    Document review (examination)
    Field assessment (examination/validation)
    Peer review (validation)
    Certification
    Labelling (chain of custody)
    Periodic review (surveillance)
    Cost
    Case studies
    Part 3 Current initiatives and Views
    Forest Initiatives and Certification
    International initiatives
    National initiatives
    Initiatives which are commonly confused with certification
    Views on Certification
    Views of the main stockholder groups
    Overall trends in the certification debate
    The Sticky issues-differing views that need resolving
    Part 4 Directories
    Active Certification Programs
    International and National Certification Initiatives
    Certified Forest
    Glossary
    Index

    Biography

    Christopher Upton and Stephen Bass

    "This is a clear and balanced overview of the key issues relating to timber certification. I strongly recommend it."
    Chris Elliot, Senior Forests Officer,
    WWF International