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

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forest certification in developing and transitioning countries
Environmental
The 20,000 plus hectares of certified forests will be a model of how things should be
done if they are maintained. However, because the current certified donors subsidize
communities heavily, there are still many questions raised as to whether the communities
can maintain their certificate after the funding support stops. However, in general,
all community forestry/eco-forestry practitioners that have undergone forestry
training manage their forest resources sustainably, taking on board the needs of FSC’s
three foundational chambers: the social, environmental and economic elements of
forestry development. Environmental management is captured well under the FSC
forest certification system. An added value is very important because customary
landowners own the forests and it is in their interests to ensure proper practices are
done so that communities continue to benefit from the many resources they get from
the forests, apart from certified sawn timber, for many more years to come. To achieve
minimal environmental impact, capacity is required to ensure that the policies are
environmentally sound and practical and are implemented in the field.
conclusion
Summary
Forest certification began in Papua New Guinea in 1993 by way of a national study
commissioned by the interim group of the Forest Stewardship Council on ecolabelling,
which was presented in Toronto at the FSC founding assembly the same year.
Actual forest certification work took place in PNG in 1994 where a community forestry
group based in East New Britain was certified. The work was certified by Société
Généralé de Surveillance (SGS).
Roadblocks and Challenges
The roadblocks to forest certification are government indifference, the lack of education
and awareness, and donor dependency.
The PNG government is officially neutral with respect to forest certification,
although there are cases where there have been conflicting statements, creating confusion
as to what the government’s position actually is. Government indifference has led
to little pressure for change in the forest management sector, resulting in continued
problems for landowners. These people have lost out; apart from the pittance they are
getting for their forests, their lives have been disrupted and very much affected by the
logging operations.
The second challenge, therefore, is to educate the landowners to manage the forest
resources themselves and improve their living standards by using the opportunities
provided by certification. Many of the NGOs are working with landowners to meet
this challenge and there are success stories of communities taking charge of their forest
resources and doing things on their own after getting the proper training and
advice.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies