What certification schemes are there?

There are over 50 forest certification schemes in the world, most of which are national schemes. The different certification schemes generally define standards regarding ecological, economical and social issues of a forest management. Within those main areas, the emphases of the schemes are different, and lead to ongoing discussions about mutual recognition and acceptable standards. Regardless of those differences, the multi-stakeholder approach of forest certification has got very positive impacts:

-It has improved the transparency of forest management practices.

-The development and establishment of standards has improved knowledge and understanding of “good” forestry among all stakeholders.

-The coming together of government, trade and NGOs released an important process of mutual understanding of the different perspectives.

-Existing schemes enabled a co-ordinated development of buyers groups and business-to-business trade strategies, creating links between producers and consumers.

Furthermore, it enables the consumer to use his buying power to support a sustainable use of the world’s forest resources and demand guarantees of a high quality product.