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

forest certification in guatemala
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Forest Certification in Guatemala
Fernando Carrera Gambetta,* Dietmar Stoian,** José Joaquín Campos,***
Julio Morales Cancino,**** and Gustavo Pinelo*****
abstract
The forest certification process in Guatemala has largely been confined to the forest
concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR), representing 95 percent of the
country’s certified forest area. Forest certification in Guatemala is unique in that
certification in accordance with the scheme of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is
mandatory in order for both communities and industrial groups to obtain and
maintain forest concessions in the MBR. Unlike other countries where forest
certification has almost exclusively been advanced in a joint effort between nongovernmental
organizations, development projects and the private sector, the case of
Guatemala shows the important role government agencies can play as agents backing
the process. Despite initial resistance, the National Council for Protected Areas
(CONAP), as the state agency in charge of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén
region of northern Guatemala, permitted forest management in the MBR provided
that it was subject to FSC certification. Sixteen forest management units covering
close to half a million hectares of broadleaved forests have since been certified,
including 10 community concessions, four cooperatives or municipal ejidos and two
industrial concessions. In addition, two forest plantations outside the MBR have been
certified. Notwithstanding the considerable progress towards sustainable forest
management in the MBR, economic benefits as returns on certification investments
have generally not lived up to expectations. Moreover, forest certification has yet to
gain momentum outside the Maya Biosphere Reserve where the process is voluntary.
Increasing the benefits of certification and expanding its coverage would require a
concerted effort between the various stakeholders involved, thorough cost-benefit
analysis in each individual case, and the development of integrated supply chains of
certified forest products. Toward this end, we suggest creating learning alliances
between key actors in the certification process, such as managers from certified
management units and processing plants, non-governmental and governmental
organizations, certification and accreditation bodies, donor agencies, research
institutions, and business development service providers.
* Fernando Carrera Gambetta,
M.Sc., Tropical Agricultural
Research & Higher Education
Center (CATIE)
Turrialba, Costa Rica
fcarrera@catie.ac.cr
** Dietmar Stoian, Ph.D.
Tropical Agricultural Research &
Higher Education Center (CATIE)
Turrialba, Costa Rica
dstoian@catie.ac.cr
*** José Joaquín Campos, Ph.D.
Tropical Agricultural Research &
Higher Education Center (CATIE)
Turrialba, Costa Rica
jcampos@catie.ac.cr
**** Julio Morales Cancino, M.Sc.
Tropical Agricultural Research &
Higher Education Center (CATIE)
Turrialba, Costa Rica
jmoral@catie.ac.cr
***** Gustavo Pinelo, B.Sc.
Coordinator, TREES/
Rainforest Alliance
Petén, Guatemala
gpinelo@ra.org
yale school of forestry & environmental studies