Summary
• Poor forest management will continue if buyers don’t clearly stipulate certified timber.
• Price is still the principal market driver for some supply chains.
• Buyers must scrutinise certification schemes to ensure they’re delivering sustainability.
One of the most powerful forces in preventing forest destruction and irresponsible management is the marketplace for timber products, yet most conservation tools work outside or are at odds with it.
WWF supports a different approach, using credible certification as a means of getting the marketplace to advance forest conservation. By contributing to the greater recognition of the importance of environmentally and socially responsible forestry practices, credible certification is helping to clean up the timber industry by engaging producers, retailers and consumers in this positive effort.
However, some argue that differing approaches between various certification schemes have resulted in market confusion. Some believe this confusion has slowed the uptake of certification and, consequently, the improved management of the world’s forests. However, the problem is rather whether clear market signals are being sent through the whole supply chain to indicate a preference for credibly certified products.
Fragments of demand
Throughout the world there are still a number of forest sectors that are not willing to play by the rules of the modern industry. Unwilling to give clear signals, they continue to purchase timber that comes from inappropriate sources. The primary markets for the “empty spaces” on the certification map are by and large still not sending the message for a preference for certified products, or even for legal timber. The only message that is coming through is price and that is where the mismatch lies.
There are simply not enough buyers asking for any sort of certification. Those that are asking are in the minority, and they do not tend to source from all of the places that the wood is available. Rather, they tend to mainly buy wood from regions in close proximity, resulting in the majority of certified markets being in North America and Europe. Conversely, markets in Asia do not seem to be pushing for certified material, resulting in signals becoming fragmented and watered down. As a result, this leaves big gaps in important forest areas like the Amazon, Congo Basin and Borneo.
If the timber sector is to drive positive change on the ground and improve the sustainability of the industry, clear market signals must be sent throughout the entire supply chain to demand credibly certified products.
Rather than avoiding tropical regions because of a perceived risk, responsible purchasers need to engage suppliers in these regions to ensure that market incentives drive positive change on the ground. Otherwise, unsustainable demand will always be there to perpetuate the destructive cycle of irresponsible and illegal logging.
Likewise, it is key for all stakeholders, whatever their interest, to scrutinise the certification schemes they are buying from to make sure that they are delivering on their sustainability promises for the future of forest resources and the people and biodiversity that depend on them. We must accept that all have improvements to make at the global level, whether in truly balancing how diverse stakeholders are able to participate, or ensuring adequate implementation of the standards on the ground. Then the bigger job for us all is to get the huge remaining percentage of production forests in threatened forest regions under better management practices.
Primary tool
So WWF continues to believe that credible certification is the primary tool to create such an incentive for producers and a choice for consumers – one that leads to results that cannot be created through legislation and regulation alone. And while there is still considerable room for improvement in all schemes, we believe Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification to be the credible choice in promoting improved forest management with transparency, international consistency and balanced multi-stakeholder governance. Performance on the ground matters and over time we expect to see other schemes raising their standards across all performance areas.
And we are not alone. Many significant players agree that this is an agenda worth sharing. Approximately 300 companies have joined with us through WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network, asserting that the FSC is the right choice in managing forests to not only provide timber, but also a range of environmental and social benefits.
When the market sends really clear signals, companies listen and respond because it makes good business sense. As long as responsible buyers challenge their suppliers to get certified products or move to those that can, the market for responsibly produced timber can effect real change.
If the timber sector is to become truly sustainable, we must continue to work the message down the supply chain to achieve certified product. Some companies think that they are too small or distant from the source to effect change. But your request for credibly certified material, when added to other responsible buyers, could mark the tipping point for your supplier to commit to certification. A decision that could save the world’s last great forest areas.
