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Forest certification is a voluntary and market-based system, in which forest management bodies are assessed by the international standards of environmental, economical, and social viewpoints for sustainable forest management, and when these standards are deemed to have been met, the management bodies are issued the certification. Lumber and paper products produced by the successfully-certified body are then affixed with a symbolic label indicating the certification. Consumers are expected to select the certified products. This is based on the thinking that selective purchasing by environment-conscious consumers will lead the industry towards suitable forest management. It is said that the considerable reduction and degradation of tropical forests in the 1980s due to commercial logging is one of the backgrounds that the forest certification systems has been devised and popularized, predominantly by environmental organizations and import traders, as a means against boycotts.
 
By the leadership of prominent international environmental organizations such as WWF and Greenpeace, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was established in 1993, to administer and operate a highly trustworthy forest certification system. As an act of opposition towards the lofty ideals expressed by FSC, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) was then established in 1999, by governments of lumber-exporting nations together with those in the industrial world. This was followed by a period where both FSC and PEFC criticized each other. During the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, however, both organizations received the same treatment with regards to paper and construction procurement standards, and the two arrived at their present situation of coexistence. Both systems are effective to exclude illegal logging, and improve forest management. As of 2019, the area certified by FSC and PEFC systems covered 200,740,000 and 326,460,000 ha, respectively, equivalent to 5.0% and 7.7% of the world’s forest area.
 
Initially, the environmental awareness of consumers was thought to be the driving force to spread and popularize forest certification systems. A quarter-century has passed since the system has started, however, despite the fact that the awareness has not seen a particular increase among general consumers in Japan, the ratio of certified paper and lumber products in the country’s domestic market is increasing. It is thought that it comes from the procurement policy for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In recent years, certification has continued to be in high demand in international lumber trading and shipping. The forest certification systems may have originated with an NGO base, with certification being entirely voluntary but, in a much-welcome development, the current state shows a shift towards such certification becoming a near-essential requirement.
 
Forest certification systems include a variety of elements not just of forest science and ecology, but also of environment economics, sociology, political science, etc. The subject is of interest for researchers from a variety of fields.
 
This book provides an outline of forest certification systems and contains self-asserted accounts from researchers, those directly engaged in forestry work, and forestry managers who are involved in some way with forest certification systems in Japan. Furthermore, it also addresses how these individuals, in their respective positions, are impacted by the existence and actions of FSC and PEFC. Even if a newcomer to the topic read through this book, they would likely find it difficult to see forest certification as a whole without understanding these background elements. Additionally, the volume devoted to the final chapter may be described as a unique characteristic of this book; it contains many case studies relating to forest certification, ranging from forestry management and furniture construction to regional development. The diversity of these efforts is another interesting aspect of forest certification. I definitely encourage those with an interest in the topic to read this book.

 

(Written by SHIRAISHI Norihiko, Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences / 2021)