Forest certification has been established as a forest management tool for more than a decade and nearly 300 million hectares (740 million acres) have been certified under credible, third-party audited programs. Despite this progress, much of the world’s forests, especially in tropical regions, continue to face over-exploitation, conversion to agriculture, and massive human-caused wildfires.
To understand how effective forest certification is as a tool for reducing deforestation and encouraging better forest management a logical question to ask is - what percentage of the world’s forest area is certified? The quick answer is very little, only about 7.5%, and most of these forests are in temperate or boreal regions where forest area is relatively stable and not subjected to the threats facing tropical forests.*
PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) is an umbrella organization that recognizes national programs including North America’s CSA (Canadian Standards Association) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative).
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is an independent international program not affiliated with PEFC.
There is no single reason the world’s certified forest area remains relatively small after a decade but often sited is certified wood products are not commanding prices that will cover the cost of certification, information about certifications has been slow in reaching many landowners, and certification is too expensive and complicated for small landowners. However, large companies are beginning to use forest certification as a tool to guarantee their wood and paper supply is dependable and originates from well-managed sources. Additionally, the European Union and United States are considering laws banning the importation of wood products from illegally-harvested sources. The increasing demand created by large business purchasing and the market effects of restricitve import laws will likely encourage the expansion of the world’s certified forest area in the future.
*The percentage of total forest area is based on a forest definition developed by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005
