Forest certification and Canadian forestry — An overview and update

Abstract

Forest certification is the identification and recognition that a forest management system and the specific forest to which it is applied has met agreed-to standards and requirements. The relatively recent interest in certification stems from three intertwined roots. These are social, market-place and professional. It was the concept of sustainable development in the late 1980s which provided the soil in which the roots would flourish. The development of certification schemes has varied depending on whether or not the focus was on a forest product or the forest and its management. The use of external independent audits as central to the assurance of credibility for the certification process is generally accepted. Differences and disagreements about certification have related mainly to what was being certified, the process of developing standards, and who would control certification. All certification schemes must have international credibility if they are to address market-place concerns, and therefore they must be trade-neutral. Within the jurisdiction within which they operate, they should be equally applicable to all forest conditions and ownerships. The initiation of forest certification is a watershed for Canadian forestry and foresters.