Forest Certification in Developing and Transitioning ... - UTas ePrints

forest certification in papua new guinea
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the government in relation to certification, but by default they are already supporting
the FSC group certification in community forestry that they have inherited from the
EU. It remains to be seen whether the Forest Authority will continue to support those
certified community groups after the EU-funded programme ends.
Social
The current certified community appears to have experienced benefits that non-certified
communities have not. They are getting better prices for their timber as well as
getting more attention concerning forest management.
In many respects the communities do not fully understand what certification is
about because some of the projects, such as the EU Eco-Forestry Programme, are
managed by a small group, not the community as a whole. It should be pointed out
again that we are taking about a very small niche in the forestry sector – less than one
percent of the total production forest areas. The whole country is still very much into
large-scale logging and carrying on with business as usual.
The certification of community forestry has also made a dent in conventional
forestry business and is making the industry as well as the government at least pay
attention to forest certification. The certification experience under the FSC system that
PNG has gone through was able to attend to issues not addressed by conventional logging
practices. More importantly, forest certification has shown tangible ways of managing
the forests, unlike conventional forestry practice.
The Melanesian societies throughout PNG learn from models or demonstrations
from which one can benefit and earn a living. This is why certification or any good
forestry model that brings benefits (short and long term) can be easily accepted and
supported by local communities. Positive impact and benefits of forest certification on
the livelihoods of the people of PNG is unclear at the moment and needs to be carefully
demonstrated to have landowners’ participation and commitment.
Economic
There is definitely a positive economic effect on communities that had their forest
certified. These communities get a better price for their timber products and generally
have a better lifestyle than those that are not certified. The biggest challenge is for the
communities to maintain their group certificate, as up until now the whole
certification work has been funded and managed by outsiders. The EU Eco-Forestry
Program will be ending in a year or two and the test will come thereafter.
There is not much impact in the whole country, as the certified communities
constitute a total of less than 25,000 hectares and the volume produced is less than 200
cubic meters annually. The ITTG group that is buying timber from MFROA is very
important for building the capacity of the community involved because the timber is
directly produced by the local communities and will have a direct impact to the
communities.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies