A detailed study has been launched to look at the impact of forest certification on management of private forests in the Nordic region.
The study, the first of its kind, has been commissioned by the Federation of Nordic Forest Owners’ Organisations (NFS) and will cover Finland, Norway and Sweden.
NFS says many comparisons have been made on the drawbacks and strengths of the different certification schemes but insufficient attention has been paid to aspects such as normative regulations in force in different countries.
It also says the effectiveness of promoting biodiversity, employment and recreational opportunities depends on how widely certification is applied.
The assessment will cover the Finnish Forest Certification System endorsed by the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), the draft FSC standard for Finland, Norway’s Living Forests/ISO 14001 scheme endorsed by PEFC and the Forest Stewardship Council, and Sweden’s FSC and PEFC systems.
Objectives include analysing certification’s impact on sustainable forest management in Nordic private forestry; evaluating the cost-effectiveness in each scheme for the parties involved; considering wood price implications in the certified round wood markets; and assessing the factors in different schemes which encourage private forest owners to opt for forest certification.
Results of the study, being conducted by independent consultants Indufor Oy, will be available early next year.
