Certification of a Community-based Forest Enterprise for Improving Institutional Management and Household Income: A Case from Southeast Sulawesi,Indonesia

Forest certification for community-based forest management was designed to strengthen an area’s forestry functions while simultaneously alleviating poverty by developing the existing community forest. It is fundamental for forest certification to maintain the economic benefits for certified local sellers and balance conservation goals with increasing local incomes. This study explores how FSC certification of a community-based forest enterprise in Southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia could improve effectively field situations of community forest management and strengthen local peoples’ financial benefits and social perceptions towards conserving forests. FSC group certification was introduced in the area of teak community forest of several villages in 2005. Because of local strong interest in group certification, the size of certified forests, the number of group certification members and the amount of certified wood harvested gradually increased. The support of a local NGO and an international NGO contributed towards successful establishment of group certification and establishment of a small-scale forestry enterprise producing certified wood in a sustainable manner. These NGOs played important roles in establishing strong relationships between producers and consumers, strengthening local forest management institutions, and promising social and economic benefits to the local people.     

Does forest certification enhance livelihood conditions? Empirical evidence from forest management in Kilwa District,Tanzania

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management certification standards have been promoted to contribute to community livelihood conditions. However, little has been done to evaluate it quantitatively. Employing theory of change, this study assesses and compares empirical evidence of the influence of the FSC forest management certification approach to enhance livelihood conditions in Kilwa, Tanzania, by using economic valuation methods and governance indicators. This is achieved through a comparative study of villages with certified community forests (FSC) under community based forest management and those without (non-FSC). Results show that annual average household forest income from FSC-certified forests is significantly higher than that of households in non-FSC-certified forests. With reference to rule compliance as an indicator of good governance, implementation of forest bylaws in villages managing FSC-certified forests is significantly more effective than villages in non-FSC-certified forests. These findings provide an insight into the influence of forest certification in enhancing livelihood conditions and that the incorporation of FSC standards into forest policies may lead to more enhancement of livelihood conditions. These findings serve as a baseline for further research on the effects of forest certification at both spatial and temporal scales.     

Effects of acquiring FSC forest management certification for Japanese enterprises using SmartWood Audits

We explore the organizational, environmental, and economic effects of sustainable forest management (FM) certification by Smart-Wood (SW), one of the certification bodies accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to carry out certification in Japan. We closely investigated three enterprises: the Yusuhara Forest Owners’ Cooperative, Yamanashi Prefectural Forest, and Ryujin-mura Forest Owners’ Cooperative. Interviews with representatives of these entities provided crucial empirical information regarding the influence of certification on environmental assessment, rare-species protection, landscape-management planning, management objectives, and forest supervision. Attainment of FM status improved environmental awareness and engendered positive changes in assessing and managing forests and other natural resources but simultaneously imposed heavier economic costs.     

Born to be a forest owner? An empirical study of the aspects of psychological ownership in the context of inherited forests in Finland

Ownership is a multidimensional phenomenon that includes legal, social, and emotional aspects. In addition to legal aspects, the social and emotional aspects, “feelings of ownership,” potentially have behavioral effects. Nevertheless, these aspects are often overlooked in the research influencing the forest owners' behavior and thus their forest management decisions. This article examines how private forest owners with inherited forest holdings construct feelings of ownership toward their forests and how these constructions are reflected in their forest management decisions. Forest ownership is addressed through the theory of psychological ownership. On the basis of 15 thematic in-depth interviews, we suggest that a sense of identity and control, as dimensions of psychological ownership, can influence whether forest management decisions are guided by tradition, economic incentives, or responsibility toward property. Based on the results, a forest owner typology (restricted, indifferent, informed, and detached forest owners) was constructed, further enabling us to understand the differences among private forest owners and the roots of their forest management decisions. More generally, the study highlights the important role of emotions in forest management decisions.     

森林认证对森林可持续经营的影响及其在中国的实践

开展森林认证是促进我国森林管理与国际接轨并实现森林可持续经营的有效途径。文中概述了森林认证的发展概况以及森林认证对森林可持续经营的影响,并以我国吉林省经过认证的森林经营企业为例,通过对森林认证前后的对比,以及与未经过认证的国有林业局对比,分析森林认证对经济、社会和环境等方面的具体影响。结果表明,森林认证的开展在经济上可行,使社会受益,对环境友好,能够促进森林可持续经营。文中还对我国开展森林认证工作提出了具体措施建议。     

Skepticism of state action in forest certification and voluntary set-asides: a Swedish example with two environmental offsetting options

Non-industrial private forest owners in Sweden are encouraged to mitigate environmental damages from forestry on their properties under a principle of “freedom with responsibility,” although the level of mitigation is generally left to the owners’ discretion. One voluntary measure private forest owners are encouraged to take is setting aside a part of their productive forests for conservation. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how non-industrial private forest owner beliefs concerning both their own and the Swedish state’s responsibility for nature protection differ among owners of certified forests, who automatically leave a set-aside, and those who have stayed out of forest certification but have decided to leave a set-aside. Results of a Heckman selection bivariate probit model show that the more a respondent believes the state is responsible for fulfilling environmental goals compared to private forest owners, the less likely it is that an owner of a non-certified forest will leave a set-aside for conservation. Beliefs about responsibility do not, however, differ among owners of certified and non-certified forests. From a policy perspective, Swedish government agencies may have difficulty steering specific measures taken by private forest owners who are interested in conservation but have stayed out of forest certification regimes.     

森林认证与生态良好

详细论述了森林认证与生态良好之间的辩证关系,介绍了森林认证的概念、机制和体系,回顾了森林认证的国内外进展,详细分析了森林认证对促进森林可持续经营进而促进生态良好的积极作用。森林认证作为一种市场机制正在为促进森林可持续经营发挥着积极作用。森林可持续经营意味着森林三大效益的有机结合和协调统一,也就是生态良好、社会有益和经济可行。森林认证能促进森林可持续经营,也就意味着森林认证能够促进生态良好。     

Experiences of a Forest Owners’ Cooperative in using FSC forest certification as an environmental strategy

Yusuhara Forest Owners’ Cooperative (YFOC) in Kochi Prefecture in Japan received its forest management certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 2000. YFOC is recognised as the resource manager of its members’ forests, and they were the first organisation to gain such certification in Japan. With the continuous efforts of selling FSC certified wood in the domestic housing construction market, YFOC has substantially increased their timber sales in recent years. It is a noteworthy event in Japanese small-scale forestry, which has been struggling with declining economic performance for many years. This paper analyses the detail of forestry activities and changes which occurred in YFOC after certification by FSC. An interesting effect of increasing economic performance is found to have come from an unexpected direction. It is concluded that the FSC certification system is a possible tool to revitalise Japanese small-scale forestry as well as obtain favourable environmental outcomes.     

The impact of SFM-certification on forest product markets in Western Europe — an analysis using a forest sector simulation model

In the international discussion on labels for sustainably produced wood products based on the certification of sustainable forest management (SFM), little attention has been paid to what is probably the most crucial part of any market-based instrument: the potential impact on forest products markets. This paper analyses the potential impact of SFM-certification on forest products markets using a simulation model of the Western European forest sector. Two scenarios with assumptions regarding certification (chain-of-custody costs, timber supply reduction from certified forests) are projected for the period 1995–2015 and tested against the results of a base scenario (‘business as usual’). In general, the results show that rather modest changes are to be expected from SFM-certification in forest products markets. The market impact of a timber supply reduction from certified forest would be more distinct than the impacts of chain-of-custody costs. Industry gross profits would decrease more than production. Due to the large share of roundwood costs in total costs, the sawmill industry would be affected more by even small changes in raw-material prices than the panel and paper industry.     

基于层次分析法构建中国竹林经营认证标准体系

竹林作为一种特殊的林分,具有生长快、成材早、产量高、材质好、用途广等特点,这些特点决定了竹林经营认证不同于森林认证,建立专门针对竹林的认证标准对推动我国竹林的可持续经营有着深远的影响.该文利用层次分析法构建中国竹林经营认证标准,并对各个指标对总目标的影响进行了分析,对国家标准的正式出台具有积极的推动意义.     

中国竹林可持续经营认证的必要性和可行性研究

通过文献研究、野外调查和专家研讨和咨询等研究方法,从中国竹林经营现状和世界森林可持续经营认证(简称森林认证)发展趋势入手,对中国开展竹林可持续经营认证的必要性和可行性进行了研究。结果表明,竹林快速生长和更新特性使竹林具有一定的可持续经营性,同时,中国现有的竹林经营技术实践在一定程度上满足了可持续经营的要求。但是,中国有较大面积的人工经营天然次生竹林,长期高强度集约经营对整个竹林生态系统的复杂性和完整性也造成了很大影响,由此引发了很多集约经营的生产性竹林水土流失、地力下降、生物多样性丧失、严重病虫害频发等生态问题,威胁着竹林可持续经营。根据我们的研究,按照目前森林认证发展趋势,竹林可持续经营认证作为促进竹林可持续经营的市场激励手段之一,是值得研究和尝试的。在中国开展绩效性的竹林可持续经营认证,不但有利于中国竹产品在国际贸易中克服绿色贸易壁垒,保持竞争优势,也有利于引导和促进中国竹林的可持续经营实践。总体上竹林认证是必要的。但在可行性方面面临一些问题和挑战。鉴于竹林本身的生物学和生态学特性、竹林经营的技术特点、竹林产品为非木质林产品的特殊性以及我国较为普遍的分户经营特点,可开展小范围试点研究,解决如何开展中小农户的联合认证问题和认证成本过高的问题,同时确保中小农户的利益和竹产品的公平贸易,为进一步的推广行动提供技术支持。在研究和推进竹林可持续经营认证的过程中,要充分考虑与中国现有竹林经营的行业标准和经营实践相衔接和适应。除了要充分利用国内外现有森林认证的理论、技术和经验,还必须充分与竹产业的生产、教学和研究人员进行磋商,充分利用现有竹业经营和开发的经验和技术。以期通过可持续经营认证,保护中国竹产品的国际贸易竞争力,同时积极引导和促进中国竹林可持续经营实践的发展和行业标准的制定。     

森林认证对白河林业局的影响分析

介绍了白河林业局森林认证的背景,根据实地调研获得的数据资料和在官方网站上收集的资料分析了森林认证对该林业局经济、社会和环境的影响。结果表明:白河林业局开展森林认证在经济上可行,使当地社会受益,对当地环境负责,促进了当地森林的可持续经营。     

世界森林认证的现状与挑战

目前，世界上有多个森林认证体系并存，虽然森林认证面积增长迅速，却分布不均。同时，在森林认证的发展过程中，也面临着一些问题和挑战。此外，文章对森林认证体系的可信性、有效性、平等性、成本效益以及如何发挥政府的作用、开拓认证产品市场、建立国家认证体系等方面进行了论述。     

中国FSC森林经营认证不符合项分析

作为提高森林经营管理水平、促进森林可持续经营的一种制度创新,森林认证对森林生态保护和建设以及世界林产品贸易均具有影响。森林管理委员会(Forest Stewardship Council,FSC)认证是目前全球最具影响力的森林认证体系,不符合项是针对FSC认证标准层面开具的企业在开展森林经营过程中违反认证标准所包含的原则总和,通过对不符合项进行分析,可以总结出我国已通过认证的森林经营企业经营状况与FSC标准的差距。文中从FSC网站收集中国开展FSC森林经营认证的80家企业的191份审核报告,对FSC认证的发展现状和认证机构开展审核时提出的不符合项进行分析。结果发现,企业在环境影响、森林监测、当地社区、劳动者权利、森林经营方案编制方面与FSC认证标准存在差距。应从加强企业森林认证动力、企业森林认证能力和技术建设以及国家政策支持等方面进一步提升,进而提高森林认证对我国森林经营管理的作用。     

森林认证的现状与发展趋势

森林认证出现于20世纪90年代初,10年来,森林认证在全球范围内取得了快速的发展。文中介绍了森林认证的起源和发展现状,指出了森林认证的发展趋势,并对我国开展森林认证提出了建议。     

美国的森林经营与森林认证现状及对我们的启示

美国是世界上森林经营水平较高的国家之一,从国家林业计划、森林生态系统经营、可持续经营标准和指标等方面分析了美国森林可持续经营状况,并介绍了美国森林经营及森林认证的有关情况,借鉴美国森林可持续经营的经验,提出了我国森林可持续经营和森林认证的对策。     

Standards and guidelines for forest plantation management: A global comparative study

The increasing area covered by forest plantations creates a demand for trustworthy mechanisms to ensure they are responsibly established and managed. In the last twenty years efforts have increased to develop standards and guidelines as voluntary-based policy tools for guaranteeing sustainable forest management. However, most are focused exclusively or prevalently on natural or semi-natural forests, while only a few are specific to planted forests or plantations. Many differences can be identified among existing standards and guidelines that can be applied to planted forests and forest plantations. The paper, which main aim is to assess whether and to what extent planted forests are properly considered within the existing sets of standards/guidelines and to identify areas for improvements, is based on a series of comparative analysis. Both quantitative (number) and qualitative (quality in terms of coherency, consistency and completeness) aspects of indicators for addressing environmental, economic and social issues are considered. First, 42 standards/guidelines are classified and compared. Secondly, 3 standards for forest certification and 3 guidelines developed by international organisations are compared. Finally, a gap analysis is carried out with respect to an ad hoc “reference standard” with 386 indicators. Ball-charts, radar graphs and histograms are used to show results.     

Mapping certified forests for sustainable management - A global tool for information improvement through participatory and collaborative mapping

There are currently no spatially explicit, openly accessible data available on forest certification below national level, so understanding the drivers of certification in the past, examining the scope for further certification and using this information for development of future sustainable forest management strategies is challenging. Hence, this paper presents a methodology for the development of a global map of certified forest areas at 1 km resolution in order to satisfy this information need. Validation of the map with certified areas in Russia showed reasonable results, but the lack of openly accessible data requires broadening the strategy for improving the global certification map in the future. Thus, the second aim of the paper is to present an online tool for visualization and interactive improvement of the global forest certification product through collaborative mapping, aiming at a range of stakeholders including third-party certifiers, green NGOs, forestry organizations, decision-makers, scientists and local experts. Such an approach can help to make more accurate information on forest certification available, promote the sharing of data and encourage more transparent and sustainable forest management, i.e. both producers and users can benefit from this online tool.     

森林认证助推世界私有林及我国非公有制林业的发展

世界上绝大部分森林是私有林, 而随着我国集体林权改革的深入和国家政策的支持, 我国非公有制林业发展迅速。森林认证对促进世界私有林和我国非公有制林业的发展和可持续经营发挥了重要作用。在分析世界私有林和我国非公有制林业认证发展现状、模式和作用的基础上, 对如何推动我国非公有制林业认证提出了意见与建议。     

Adaptive risk management for certifiably sustainable forestry

The past decade has seen a global surge in forest management certification, with over 200 million hectares of the world's forest now certified as sustainably harvested. Because forests are some of the most species-rich environments on earth and more than 90% of the world's forests occur outside formal protected area systems, forest management certification will be one of the pervasive influences on global biodiversity for the foreseeable future. We find that current forest certification schemes are largely deficient because they fail to demand: (i) measurable management objectives for biodiversity, (ii) formal risk assessment of competing management options that integrate impacts on biodiversity, (iii) monitoring that directly addresses management performance requirements and a clear plan for how monitoring information will be used to make better management decisions, and (iv) ongoing research targeted toward practices that enhance biodiversity in managed landscapes. We argue that the credibility of certification schemes hinges on their ability to dictate scientifically defensible management systems for biodiversity conservation. We present a framework for adaptive risk management (ARM) of biodiversity that is both responsibly proactive and diligently reactive and recommend its incorporation in all certification schemes. We highlight the need for substantial government and agency investment in fostering ARM.