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

forest certification in south africa
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Forest Certification in South Africa
Cori Ham*
abstract
The South African forestry industry is predominantly based on plantation forestry.
More than 80 percent of the plantations were certified in a market-driven certification
process during the late 1990s and early 2000s. As a net exporter of forestry products,
South Africa’s procurement of new markets and securing of existing markets were
critical. The forestry industry saw certification as a marketing tool and accepted it
fairly easily. What makes this certification effort even more remarkable was that it
took place without a national FSC standard and with very little government
intervention. Certification audits are conducted according to certification body generic
checklists, while government is still developing a set of minimum standards for
sustainable plantation management.
Some of the constraints to certification include the large number of small-scale
timber growers (who find it difficult to cope with the costs of certification and to
comply with the management standards set by certification), the absence of a
national standard, and high HIV/AIDS infection rates that could influence the future
sustainability of forestry operations. The positive impacts of certification are manifest
in more environmentally sustainable forestry operations and a heightened social
awareness amongst foresters. The forestry industry has accepted certification as a selfregulatory
tool to ensure the sustainability of its operations and foresters are
increasingly embracing certification and incorporating it in their management
systems.
* Cori Ham, B.Sc.
Ukwazisa Consulting
P.O. Box 3351, Matieland 7602,
South Africa
coriham@mweb.co.za
yale school of forestry & environmental studies