Forest Certification

It has been widely reported in the media that major forest clearances in many parts of the world have contributed to changing weather patterns and ecological devastation. Reports suggested that many of these clearances were illegal and carried out with little concern for the environment or local communities. It was against this background that aspirations for global forest certification were first expressed by many within the timber industry, environmental groups and human rights organisations.

The purpose of forest certification is to provide the consumer with an assurance that products have been sourced from sustainable (well managed) woodlands and forests. This assurance is based on an assessment of forest and woodland areas by independent auditors to determine whether they are being managed to recognised standards of management. Forest certification caters for commodities such as timber which is sold on the global market and there is a mechanism to ensure that products from certified forests are separated from uncertified products in the supply chain. This is achieved by a chain-of-custody certification which verifies that each stage of the supply chain has been certified. The consumer can easily recognise a certified product through appropriate labelling.

There are several certification schemes in existence. However, the most widely adopted certification scheme in forestry within the UK is operated by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The FSC is an accreditation body which is responsible for evaluating and monitoring independent auditors who assess forest operations against published standards. The FSC has gained widespread endorsement from environmental bodies such as World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It is hoped that the use of the FSC trademark on forest products worldwide will not only promote sustainable forest management but will also encourage more forestry landowners and managers to participate in the scheme.

Certification requires forestry practices to be audited against an agreed standard. The UKWAS is designed to provide a common standard for use within forest certification programmes operating in the UK. The participation of stakeholders in developing the Standard which encompassed economic, environmental and social interests contributed largely to its widespread acceptance. It sets out the requirements which must be met by forest and woodland owners and managers in order to obtain certification and guidance is provided on how to fulfil these requirements. It has been fully endorsed by the FSC and therefore the FSC label can be displayed on products from UKWAS certified forests.

A revision of the UKWAS was published in 2006.

FSC certification may be conducted by certifying bodies in possession of FSC accreditation. SGS Forestry (SGS) is the organisation which currently provides independent verification that environmental, social and economic standards have been met in Northern Ireland’s forests.

An initial audit of forest management within the Forest Service was conducted by SGS in December 2000 and it resulted in Forest Service receiving its first certificate against the UKWAS. A certificate expires after five years. A public summary of the re-assessment certification report was prepared for Forest Service in 2005. This report identifies aspects of our business that were audited and highlights specific areas which need to be addressed. SGS also conducts annual surveillance visits to the Forest Service to ensure that high standards are maintained. The most recent surveillance visit took place during March 2007.