Posted on 07 April 2014
| Forests FSC certified for their sustainable
management provide more benefits to communities
than uncertified forests, according to a
new study of Congo Basin logging concessions
by the Center for International Forestry
Research (CIFOR).
“The evidence indicates
that Forest Stewardship Council certification
in the Congo Basin has been able to push
logging companies toward remarkable social
progress,” says Paolo Cerutti, lead scientist
from CIFOR.
Conducted in 2013-2014
across three Congo Basin countries—Cameroon,
Gabon and Republic of Congo—the WWF-supported
study matched nine certified and nine noncertified
concessions, or forest management units
(FMUs) to compare how well they delivered
social benefits to workers and communities.
The study looked at
measures such as employee living and working
conditions, equitable distribution of resources,
social infrastructure such as schools and
community buildings, and impacts on customary
rights such as agriculture and hunting.
The study is the first
of its kind to look specifically at social
impacts of FSC certification in the Congo
Basin, and highlights how communities benefit
when logging companies pursue the level
of responsible forest management required
by and audited under FSC certification requirements.
The study found that
FSC certified concessions establish more
effective and better organized institutions
for communication with communities and equitable
financial support to development projects,
in clear contrast to past and nearby uncertified
forestry operations.
In light of the results
of the Congo Basin research, WWF Forest
Director Rod Taylor reaffirms WWF’s commitment
to investments in FSC certification. “This
report confirms that FSC certification can
drive logging companies to adopt more progressive
social practices, and thus benefits communities
living in and around certified logging concessions,”
says Taylor.
The study did not find
significant differences between certified
and noncertified concessions in terms of
customary access to, and right to use forest
resources within logging concessions (e.g.
for agricultural use, hunting and gathering
non-timber forest products). The study also
highlighted a need to ensure that the benefits
of certification for communities are sustained.
According to the study,
the delivery of social benefits would be
further improved if logging companies, certifying
bodies and the FSC put more effort into
establishing clear, written procedures for
conflict resolution, improved monitoring
of performance against social benchmarks
and provided better career planning to make
the logging industry a more attractive employment
sector.
The Forest Stewardship
Council has been operating since 1994, with
the first certification in the Congo Basin
achieved in 2005 and currently some 4.3
million ha of natural tropical forest under
FSC certification. Still, this represents
only about 10 per cent of all logging concessions
in the region.
While there is an unquestionable
need for formal protection of a representative
portion of the region’s and the world’s
most socially and environmentally important
forests, the majority of the world’s forests
will remain outside of protected areas.
Well-managed selective logging concessions
can buffer protected areas, support healthy
populations of rare or endangered species
and benefit people.
Responsible forestry,
including both intensive commercial management
and community forestry, has a key role to
play in conserving global biodiversity,
preventing illegal logging and providing
economic and social benefits to society.
