Forest certification, institutional capacity, and learning: An analysis of the impacts of the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme

Lewis, Robin A.; Davis, Stacey Renee

doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2014.12.011

Cited by 40 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Thus, forest certification was initially introduced as a voluntary mechanism by environmental groups to ameliorate the consequences of tropical deforestation and forest degradation [4]. Forest certification, a mechanism based on third-party auditing of compliance with established standards, was quickly accepted as a means to promote sustainable forest management [5][6][7] and directly influenced forest management practices [8][9][10][11]. Through certification as a soft policy instrument [12,13], it is possible to provide credible assurance to customers about the effective compliance of forest management with sound social, environmental, and economic principles [14][15][16].…”

Section: Forest Certification and Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems

et al. 2018

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Forest certification as a voluntary verification tool has been providing an independent assessment of sustainable forestry practices and thus confidence in sustainability benchmarks for over 20 years. Using either the international or national approaches and initiatives, two main forest certification systems, PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), have spread in a number of countries worldwide. The specifics of local conditions in the forestry sector have to be taken into account when implementing the certification context in a given country or a region. Apart from the natural conditions, institutional structure, or legislative framework, it is also the local and national stakeholders and their perception of this issue that provides the background for the implementation of the certification criteria. The main objective of this study is to examine the general understanding of the certification concept as an environmental, economic, and social tool, and to determine the incentives of forest owners in Slovakia for sustainable forest management (SFM) certification. In addition, the benefits and problems arising from participation in certification were identified and differences reflecting the ownership structure of forests, size of forest area, and participation in a particular certification programme were analysed. Results indicate that certified forest owners, unlike non-certified, demonstrated a high level of understanding of the SFM certification concept. Certified entities mainly consider forest certification as their commitment to environmental responsibility and a tool for improving external company image, promoting sustainable utilisation of forest resources, and improving forest management practices. The main benefits are linked to the possibility to demonstrate forest management practices, a better understanding of the forest management concept, and improvement of forest management practices. PEFC users perceive more benefits following from certification; the most important are those associated with non-economic values, while FSC-certified forest owners perceive mainly economic benefits connected to market penetration, increased sales volume, and potential price premiums. The key problems associated with certification relate to duties to ensure compliance with certification criteria by contractors and administrative difficulties. Respondents reported minimum price premiums for the sale of their certified timber. Additionally, the findings of the study pointed out that a nationally developed certification system can better recognise the roles and objectives of forest certification in the context of forest policy.

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Section: Forest Certification and Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems

et al. 2018

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“…Forest certification is a process by which forest owners voluntarily submit their forests to inspection by an independent certification body to determine whether their management practices meet clearly defined standards, particularly those regarding sustainability [2]. It was quickly accepted as a means to promote sustainable forest management [3][4][5] and directly influenced forest management practices [6][7][8][9]. Cabarle et al [10] argued that the objective of certification is to link the informed consumer with products produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Chain-of-Custody Certification in the Czech and Slovak Republic

et al. 2017

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Forest certification is a voluntary verification tool that has been gaining importance within the global sustainability issues as an independent verification tool for sustainable forest management and wood processing industry and as an influencer in private and public purchasing policies and a component of emerging wood harvesting and trade legality schemes. This study focuses on the chain-of-custody (CoC) component of forest certification. A survey of CoC certified companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia was carried out to explore the understanding of the concept and role of forest and CoC certification as an environmental, economic, and social tool. It aimed to determine expectations following from the implementation of CoC certification by companies and to identify difficulties in existing certified wood product supply chains and costs related to purchase and sales of certified forest products, respectively. Results indicate that respondents demonstrated a high level of understanding of the CoC concept and that they link forest certification mainly to the issues of legality, tracing the origin source of supply and promotion of sustainable utilisation of wood. The main expected benefits are linked to the improvement of an external company image followed by penetration of new markets and increase of sales volume. CoC is not considered a tool to improve internal company performance and efficiency. The key problems connected to certified supply chains relate to the sufficient quantity of certified forest products, low margins and overpriced certified material inputs. Respondents reported none or minimum price premiums for their certified products over non-certified alternatives. Several differences related to the understanding of the sustainable forest management concept and the level of price premium paid for certified inputs were identified between the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified companies as well as between the different forest products sectors.

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“…While forest certification remains one of the main policy instruments for assessing the long-term sustainability of the world's forest resources, the impacts on the forest management systems undergoing certification remain vastly understudied [44], and only a few studies have documented in detail the impacts of forest certification on the overall quality of the operations of companies such as forest management [42,45,46]. However, evaluations of complex, large-scale, and long-term conservation interventions like FSC certification will also be expensive because, if well-done, they will require participation of many stakeholders, extended time in the field by well-informed observers, and substantial buy-in by governments [47].…”

Section: Program Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trends in the implementation of certification may reinforce this with all schemes shifting from relational approaches towards adoption of ISO procedures that favor corporate participation [44].…”

Section: Differences In the Conceptual Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of Non-State and State Approaches for Forest Certification in Mexico

García-Montiel

Cubbage

Alboreca

et al. 2017

Forests

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Abstract:Mexico has had a non-state forest certification system under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since it was initiated in 1993, and developed a new state-sponsored Mexican Forest Certification System (MFCS) that began in 2008. Several analyses have been made of FSC forest certification in Mexico, but none have summarized the new MFCS system or compared its standards with FSC. We compare the implementation of the non-state FSC market forest certification with the state-sponsored MFCS system in Mexico, and review literature on forest certification, focusing on all studies in Mexico. MFCS has had substantial enrollment of more than 902,802 ha by 2016, compared to 900,388 ha for the more-established FSC program. MFCS can be acceptable for stand-alone forest certification, and might be viewed as a stepwise path to FSC certification. The merits of both systems are analyzed in terms of standard content, likely sustainable forestry practices, access to markets, and community forestry enterprises.

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Forest certification, institutional capacity, and learning: An analysis of the impacts of the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme

Cited by 40 publications

References 11 publications

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems

Understanding Sustainable Forest Management Certification in Slovakia: Forest Owners’ Perception of Expectations, Benefits and Problems

Assessment of Chain-of-Custody Certification in the Czech and Slovak Republic

An Analysis of Non-State and State Approaches for Forest Certification in Mexico

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