Forest certification - an update on New Zealand’s place in the green scene

Authors: Margaret Horner
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2011, Issue N.Z.J.For. 56(2) 2011, pp 3-8, Aug 2011
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: Margaret Horner, Science Communicator at Scion, discusses the role of the Forest Stewardship Council certification process in New Zealand and how it fits in to the planned National Standard for Certification of Plantation Forest management. Rainforest destruction and indiscriminate logging have sparked worldwide environmental concerns about how forests are managed. This concern translates into consumer demand for forest products that come from sustainably managed forests. Certification systems that use independent auditors to verify responsible forest management enable growers to access wealthy markets in Asia, North America and Europe. In New Zealand, the certification of choice currently is the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) system. The mission of FSC is “to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests”. Of the 1.8 million hectares of plantation forest in New Zealand, 1 million are FSC certified. Over 150 chain-of-custody certificates have been granted to wood processors, and the list is growing by the year. Chainof- custody verifies that a product meets certification standards at each stage of the production chain, from forest to final retailer.

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