Beyond timber: certifying sustainable forest products

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) provide 80 percent of the world’s population with resources such as medicine, food and shelter. They also generate extra income for poor rural communities. In the mid-1990s certification was introduced for NTFPs: has this contributed to rural livelihoods and forest conservation?

Forest certification aims to encourage the sustainablemanagement of both timber production and NTFPs. NTFPs include roots, bark,leaves, fruits, flowers, seeds and fungi, as well as birds and animals.Forty-six commercial NTFPs have approved certification standards. Research fromThe Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Forest Trends, USA,examines how certification can be improved to further benefit local communitiesand the environment.

Certificates for NTFPs include Fair Tradecertification and ecologically-responsible forest management standards, such asForest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. However, the development of NTFPstandards is more challenging than timber certification, due to the wide rangeof products and their importance to subsistence livelihoods.

Because of these difficulties, NTFP certification bythe FSC has not been consistent, but has been conducted according to the needsof certifiers, companies and producers. The research shows:

• Products withlarge, established markets are most suitable for NTFP certification.
• Barriers to NTFPcertification include a lack of knowledge about forest species, poor workingconditions, illegal harvesting and an inability to pay for certification.
• Few businessesand consumers are aware of certification and markets for certified products aresmall.
• Timbercertification can create additional problems: for example, some endangered treespecies used for medicinal barks in Brazil are currently certified ascommercial timber in the USA.

Most certification systems for NTFPs are area-basedprogrammes. However, these are difficult to apply because many products are collectedby harvesters who do not have secure access or tenure rights over the forest.Many collectors harvest NTFPs over large areas.

NTFP certification requires political support andstrong local actions to succeed. Increasing policymakers’ knowledge of processesis vital for improving management standards and building relationships betweenproducers, buyers and governments. The research argues that the FSC andcertifying bodies must:

• retrain forest managers and certifiers so they understand local concernsabout the use and management of NTFPs
• increase thecollaboration between standards-setting agencies and certifiers to make thestandards consistent.

For other stakeholders, theauthors suggest:

• Governments canremove barriers to certification, establish training centres for forestmanagement officials and encourage businesses to trade in certified productsthrough incentive schemes.
• The privatesector should support local producers by promoting certified local brands andeducating consumers about products sourced from sustainably managed forests.
• Conservationorganisations should focus on achieving sustainable management, not the processof certification itself. They must realise that certification is notappropriate for all products and conservation projects.
• Forestry researchmust identify the key species under threat and evaluate the impact of policiesand local management systems that affect NTFP trade.