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

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forest certification in developing and transitioning countries
background factors
4 Puerto Barrios, Santo Tomás
de Castilla and Puerto
Quetzal.
Despite its relatively small land surface of 108,889 km 2 , Guatemala reveals high
natural and cultural diversity. Due to its location at the isthmus between two large
land masses, topographical and edaphic variation, and broad rainfall, thermal and
altitudinal ranges, Guatemala is home to a large variety of ecosystems and species.
The country’s strategic position between two oceans with access to international
ports 4 both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts greatly facilitates international trade.
Historical Context
Forestry Problems
The country’s broad ecological variation leads to a wide variety of forest ecosystems,
which in turn are subject to a complex pattern of access to and ownership of forest
resources. For most users, though, forests are a source of firewood rather than construction
wood or valuable timber. To date, these features have hindered the development
of a national-level approach to sustainable forest management. In the southern
region, principal forestry problems include small-scale landownership, pressure
to convert forests into agricultural lands, and low productivity of coniferous and
mixed forests along with their overexploitation for firewood. In the Petén, on the
other hand, overall conditions are more conducive to sustainable forest management,
although this northern region suffers from poor access and a long trajectory of forest
fires and illicit logging of valuable species, particularly mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).
Given the vast tracts of forests remaining in the Petén and their high levels of
biodiversity, one of the key issues has been how best to conserve these principal forest
resources of the country. It is in this context that forest certification has emerged as a
policy tool. Rather than seeking to promote sustainable forest management on a
national scale, advocates of forest certification asserted that it would bring the
following benefits:
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Assure government agencies that the public forests in the MUZ of the Maya
Biosphere Reserve are well-managed. Distrust was related to the industrial
concessions in the MBR, rather than the community concessions that were
backed by various kinds of NGOs.
Avoid criticism from conservation groups opposing extractive activities in any
part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Similar to government agencies, several
environmental NGOs initially opposed timber extraction in the MUZ. Forest
certification was believed to lend credibility to the forest concession process.
Promote sound forest management. Mandatory certification was assumed to
improve forest management in the MUZ by making both industrial and
community concessions comply with basic principles of sound forest
management as reflected in expert recommendations and the conditions
imposed by them.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies