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

forest certification in latvia
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Forest Certification in Latvia
Ansis Actiņŝ* and Mara Kore**
abstract
Latvia has a considerable amount of forested land — 2.85 million hectares,
constituting 44 percent of its total area. Approximately half is owned by the state and
most of the remainder is distributed among 150,000 private owners. Latvia’s economy
is highly dependent on timber as its primary natural resource and main export
product. These factors make Latvia an interesting case in which to follow the
development of the forest certification process. The two certification programs
currently operating in Latvia are FSC and PEFC. In 2003 Latvia’s state forests (the State
Joint Stock Company charged with management of about one half of Latvia’s
forestland) completed certification of its forests under FSC. In addition, the Riga
municipal forests are certified (primarily under FSC), and a growing number of hectares
of private forested land are coming under group certification through both FSC and
PEFC (although there is still relatively little private land certified under either scheme).
At this point all indications point toward FSC as the leading certification scheme in
Latvia. Although it is too early to tell what the full economic and ecological
implications of certification will be, one significant effect of the certification process so
far has been to improve communication among all members of the forest sector.
* Ansis Actiņŝ, M.Sc.
Reforestation and Certification
Coordinator
Latvia State Forests
Kristapa iela 30, Riga, LV 1046,
Latvia
a.actins@lvm.lv
** Mara Kore, B.A.
Southwestern Michigan College
57519 Lone Tree Road,
Three Rivers, MI 49093, USA
mkore@swmich.edu
yale school of forestry & environmental studies