FSC- for sustainable forestry

by Sajitha Prematunge

I'm a tree lover myself, but there is no denying that the development process cannot be held back. Development and sustainability must go hand in hand. But the threat to our tropical rainforest cover is also irrefutable. Could legalizing forestry in our tropical rainforests, indeed save it from destruction?

In the 1980s the Western countries realized that the biggest threat to the environment may be deforestation and that this was most acute in the tropics. But in reality, the West was indeed a part of the equation.
 

If it weren't for the demand from the West most of the tropical rainforests would have survived. Consequently most Western countries developed their own certification systems, in an attempt to reduce illegal harvesting and encourage sustainable Forest Management.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification system is one such certification process. Based in Germany it's one of the most successful globally acknowledged Certification processes of the world, with over 90 million hectares of Forests already certified. Most developed countries would accept wood based products certified under this system.

In early 2000 the Export Development Board and few other key stakeholder organizations such as the IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Ministry of Environment, and Forest Department discussed the necessity for a FSC Certification programme for Sri Lanka.

With funding from the Dutch Government FSC programme will be able to certify over 70,000 hectares of Forest Plantations in Sri Lanka. Professor Shantha Hennayake, National Project Coordinator Forest Governance Project, and also the Team Leader of the FSC Project explained that the FSC programme in Sri Lanka has two perspectives.
 

One is Sustainable Forest Management and the other, developing Wood-based Products in a Sustainable manner. Under these two objectives two certificate schemes are introduced - FSC Forest Certification and FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) Certifications.

Only Wood-based Products from Sustainably Managed Forests, are certified by the FSC Certification process.

He further explained that, for the small scale industries and Rubber small-holders of developing countries, to individually obtaining such a certification as FSC was nearly impossible, due to its' economic implications. This was exactly why the FSC Certification project of Sri Lanka coordinated with FSC Germany to set up the FSC Group Certification.

Under CoC contractors, saw millers, product manufacturers and exporters are certified, thereby FSC Certification ensures the sustainability of the forests by certifying not only the final Wood-based Product but also the extraction of wood and the entire production process.

Pre-scoping visits decide what's required for a certain company to achieve certification. Ownership has to be clear and legal, all proceedings have to be documented, the whole process has to be very transparent and their forest management plans should have the three basic elements - economic viability, social responsibility, environmental sustainability.

But Sri Lanka does not have local standards for FSC certification process or a local Certification body. In Sri Lanka the Standards Institution is involved in the development of National Standards for FSC. After formulation of FSC National Standards, SLSI will get Accredited from FSC as a Certification body in Sri Lanka.

'We have not yet focused on the local market because the present demand for FSC products is mainly from the international market. But later on we hope to encourage the Government to follow a similar process for the local market as well.

A programme like this is necessary for Sri Lanka to come out as a Clean player of the Environmental scenario. The objective of FSC is to legalize the process while still providing for the needs.'

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