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Understanding Forest Certification Process

Forest certification is a market-based tool that promotes responsible forestry practices through third-party evaluation against established standards. It includes two main types: forest management certification and chain of custody certification, both of which are necessary for labeling products as certified. The certification process involves several stages, including application, pre-assessment, gap closure, main assessment, reporting, and ongoing surveillance to ensure compliance with standards.

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Topics covered

  • certification integrity,
  • certification feedback,
  • corrective action requests,
  • independent auditor,
  • forest management,
  • pre-assessment,
  • social welfare,
  • stakeholder access,
  • application stage,
  • certification applicant
83 views7 pages

Understanding Forest Certification Process

Forest certification is a market-based tool that promotes responsible forestry practices through third-party evaluation against established standards. It includes two main types: forest management certification and chain of custody certification, both of which are necessary for labeling products as certified. The certification process involves several stages, including application, pre-assessment, gap closure, main assessment, reporting, and ongoing surveillance to ensure compliance with standards.

Uploaded by

Akshita
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Topics covered

  • certification integrity,
  • certification feedback,
  • corrective action requests,
  • independent auditor,
  • forest management,
  • pre-assessment,
  • social welfare,
  • stakeholder access,
  • application stage,
  • certification applicant

INTRODUCTION

 Certification is a market-based and non-regulatory forest conservation tool designed to


recognize and promote environmentally-responsible forestry and sustainability of forest
resource.

 The certification process involves an evaluation of management planning and forestry


practices by a third-party according to an agreed-upon set of standards.

 Certification standards address social and economic welfare as well as environmental


protection.
Forest certification

Forest certification is defined as a protecting forests through promoting responsible


and better management practices. It provides a third party assurance that the forestry
operations meet standards set by the certifying authority. Forests are hence, evaluated
based on the defined set of standards and certified by an independent , qualified
auditor.
Types of forest certification

1 Certification of forest management


It assesses whether forests are being managed according to a
specified set of standards.

2 Certification of chain of custody


It also referred to CoC certification , which verifies that certified
material is identified or kept separate from non-certified or non-
controlled material through the production process , from the forest to
the final consumer .
To label an end-product as a certified, both forest management
certification and chain-of-custody certification are required .
Stages in the process of forest certification
1) Application and proposal : Certification is voluntary , so the first stage is that
the forest manager or management organization interested in having a forest
assessed applies to a certification body , and the certification body prepares a
proposal

2) Pre-assessment or spacing : It is normal that the certification body makes a


brief preliminary visit to the certification applicant with three main
objectives :
• To ensure that the applicant understands the requirements of certification.
• To plan for the main assessment
• To identify any major gaps between the applicant’s current management and
the level required by the standard.
Cont..
3) Closing gaps : the applicant addresses any gaps between current management
and that required for certification until they are confident that their management
is in compliance with standard.

4) Main assessment: It provides the main opportunity to establish that the standard
is (or is not) being met.
• It is usually carried out by an assessment team whose job it is to collect
objective evidence which demonstrates whether or not the standard is being
met.
• The collection of objective evidence involves a combination of document
review , field visits and consultation.
• When noncompliances with the standard are found , this normally results in
Corrective Action Requests (CARs) which must be addressed by the applicant
to bring the forest (or management system if it is a system standard) into full
compliance with the standard.
Cont..
5) Reporting and certification decisions : the assessment team does not make a
decision about whether or not the forest should be certified.
• Following the assessment , the team produces a report setting out the findings
and making a certification recommendation.
• The certification decision is made based on the report . This should always be
done by a panel or committee who were not directly involved in the assessment
to reduce the risk of corruption.
• The report can be reviewed by specialist prior to going to the final decision –
making committee to get some independent feedback on the process and the
results.
• The report must be made available to the accreditation body.
• Some or all the report can be made publicly available to allow stakeholders
access to information on the certification.
Cont..
6) Surveillance : A critical part of the certification process is the ongoing
surveillance of certified forests. Surveillance visits serve two purposes.
• Ongoing compliance with the standard is checked to ensure that
performance does not fall below the required level.
• Where improvements have been required through CARs, progress is
monitored.

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