Forest Stewardship Council - Deforestation Issues Addressed By FSC Certification

Deforestation Issues Addressed By FSC Certification

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, half of the world’s forests have already been altered, degraded, destroyed or converted into other land uses. Much of the remaining forests today suffer from illegal exploitation and otherwise poor management. FSC was established as a response to these concerns over global deforestation.

FSC is a global forestry certification system established for forests and forest products. This voluntary mechanism can be regarded as one of the more interesting initiatives of the last decade to promote better forest management. Many alternative national and regional forest certification bodies also exist around the globe.

Forest management according to FSC’s internationally recognised standards delivers environmental services to local and global communities, including clean air and water, and contributes to mitigating the effects of climate change. FSC directly or indirectly addresses issues such as illegal logging, deforestation and global warming and has positive effects on economic development, environmental conservation, poverty alleviation and social and political empowerment.

FSC is an international association of members. It is a platform for forest owners, timber industries, social groups and environmental organizations to come together to find solutions to improve forest management practices. FSC works to ensure the permanent existence of forest areas through responsible forest management and conservation.

Moreover, the idea of the FSC logo is to guarantee that the product comes from responsible sources — environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable. The FSC label can be found on a wide range of timber and non-timber products from paper and furniture to medicine and jewellery. The logo empowers point-of-sale purchasers to express their demand in the market for responsible forestry by supporting an independent, global and credible label for forest products.