Introduction to forest certification : woodland owner notes

An Introduction to Forest Certification Woodland Owner Notes NC STATE EXTENSION Forest certification is a globally implemented, voluntary program to ensure that forest products originate from certified land that is managed with a goal of sustainability. This article presents a basic overview of forest certification, different certification systems, the process of certification, and emerging concepts in forest certification. Introduction Forests provide aesthetic, ecological, economic, recreational, and spiritual values to society. Forest certification assures the public that the benefits and functions of the forest, including clean air and water, wildlife and plant habitat, soil health, and recreation, are maintained or protected during management and harvest. Forest certification identifies land that is managed with a goal of sustainability. Sustainable forestry can be viewed as a "three-legged stool" in which the legs represent the economic, ecological, and social aspects of forest management. Certification also ensures that management does not diminish the value of the future forest, nor create hardships for local communities. Certification is strictly voluntary; any landowner can participate. Certification systems assure consumers that the product they are purchasing meets certain standards. Forest certification refers to an independent, third-party evaluation of the management of a particular forest against a certain standard. A certification logo or tag on a wood- based product alerts consumers that wood used to produce that product is from a certified forest. Forest certification originated in the early 1990s after the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a means to protect tropical timber from deforestation and forest degradation. By certifying the management of certain tropical forests, wood products made from that timber could be labeled as "certified" to track the sources of wood products and to ensure consumers that the products are from sustainably managed lands. Forest certification has since been implemented in North America and virtually all timber producing regions across the world. About 1 billion acres, or 11 percent of the world's forests, are certified. In the United States, recent data shows that about 95.4 million acres, representing about 13 percent of total forests, have been certified with at least one certification system (Alvarez 2018). About 39 percent of those 95.4 million certified acres are in the southern states. In 2017, only 8.9 percent of the total forestland in North Carolina was certified. Despite several ongoing efforts in landowner outreach and stakeholder engagement, net certified forest area in the United States has remained relatively stable for the past decade (Alvarez 2018). Why Certification? Forest certification has been an essential part of forest management in recent years, as it has direct influences on forestland ownership, forest product marketing, and forest stewardship. Some of the perceived benefits of forest certification include - greater access to markets, ■ a price premium from some buyers, ■ a healthier forest, • better environmental practices, - better long-term management planning, ■ less waste, ■ personal and community pride in knowing the forest is well-managed, and ■ a path for the continuous improvement of forest management.