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Forest
certification is a voluntary
market-based instrument to
promote sustainable forest
management, and, as such,
driven by market actors.
However governments have a
major role to play in
setting out a policy and
institutional framework, and
as significant actors
themselves, for instance as
forest owners and,
increasingly, as buyers of
wood products. They may also
contribute to capacity
building, provide support,
including finance, to
drafting national standards
and putting in place the
necessary institutions,
moderate between competing
schemes and provide
assurance of a level playing
field in international trade
and on domestic markets.
The UNECE
Timber Committee, together
with the FAO European
Forestry Commission, held an
in-session, one-day policy
forum on governments’ roles
in forest certification for
sustainable forest
management on 29 September
2005.
Among the forum’s
conclusions are:
- Governments should
endeavour to remain
neutral between competing
schemes.
-
Governments and other
stakeholders should
refocus on the commonly
shared objective of
promoting sustainable
forest management, and
especially combating
deforestation.
Certification is only
one tool to achieve this
objective.
-
Certification offers an
opportunity to promote
the sound use of wood:
this opportunity should
be grasped, by
governments and other
stakeholders.
-
There is growing concern
among governments and
industry about the
continuing fierce
competition between
schemes, which is seen
as weakening the image
of wood as an
environmentally friendly
material. Industry
representatives also
expressed concern about
emerging differences
between public
procurement policies in
different countries
leading to possible
distortion of
competition and effects
on trade.
-
The lack of information
on production,
consumption and trade of
certified forest
products hampers policy
makers, analysts and
market actors.
The presentations and
discussions of the policy
forum will be made available
in a UNECE/FAO Geneva Timber
and Forest Discussion Paper.
The presentations are
available at:
http://www.unece.org/trade/timber/docs/tc-sessions/tc-63/Policy_Forum/2005TCPolicyForum.htm
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