New WWF assessment reaffirms FSC as the best certification scheme
WWF has released a statement on the PEFC governance system and has reaffirmed that “FSC is still the best”. Their position follows WWF’s latest assessment of forest certification systems and concludes that FSC best meets WWF’s core requirements. WWF continues to see credible forest certification as an important tool to promote responsible forest management and purchasing of forest products from well-managed forests.
On February 17, 2009, WWF released a statement on the “PEFC Governance Review and the new PEFC Stakeholder Forum”. The statement follows “An analysis of FSC and PEFC” using its Forest Certification Assessment Guide.
WWF uses the Forest Certification Assessment Guide to evaluate the quality and credibility of forest certification schemes. The guide focuses on international rules and regulations of certification systems. In collaboration with the World Bank, WWF developed the methodology in July 2006 to review their position on credible certification systems.
Based on this latest assessment, as well as other previous assessments, WWF concluded that “FSC still best meets WWF's core requirements”, namely for:
- driving significant improvements in forest management on the ground
- meaningful and equitable participation of all major stakeholder groups
- reliable and independent assessments
- certification decisions free of conflicts of interest
- transparency in decision-making and reporting
- delivering consistency across countries
According to the assessment, there is room for improvement in both systems. WWF noted that FSC needs to improve in its approach to ‘interim standards’ in countries where no national standards are in place. In regard to PEFC, WWF stated the need to improve across a range of issues related to transparency of decision-making and reporting; balanced and equitable stakeholder participation as well as its ability to demonstrate improvements on the ground.
While both FSC and PEFC have mechanisms in place to exclude material from “controversial” sources in labeled products, WWF highlights that FSC standards are stricter and in line with WWF’s definition of “unwanted sources”.
Besides addressing international concerns on illegal logging, FSC Controlled Wood also includes a balanced consideration of key social and environmental issues. WWF raises their concerns that PEFC's definition of controversial sources is limited only to “illegal or unauthorized harvesting”; particularly when the certification system aims to expand into new high risk regions.
As a result, WWF will continue to actively focus its efforts to further strengthen the FSC system, on adapting FSC certification to different scales and national contexts, and on promoting the FSC logo as an internationally recognized hallmark of responsible forest management.
WWF statement on the PEFC Governance Review and the new PEFC Stakeholder Forum
Analysis of FSC and PEFC Certification Schemes, August 2008
Summary of analysis of FSC and PEFC Certification Schemes, August 2008
WWF/World Bank Forest Certification Assessment Guide
WWF Position statement on forest certification 2007
More information on the WWF website.
