The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the German aid agency GTZ, and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) hosted a seminar in Rome on 19-20 February to encourage improved dialogue and linkages between organisations that have an interest in forest certification.
Voluntary certification of forest management and labelling of forest products is recognized as a potential tool for promoting sustainable forest management. However, many consider that the proliferation of certification and/or labelling schemes that is occurring is inhibiting the process. Others do not share this view. Despite the differing views there have been increasing calls for efforts to achieve some degree of international comparability and to consider the equivalency of different certification schemes.
FAO, GTZ, and ITTO sought to assist the process of understanding by bringing a wide range of stakeholders together to discuss their areas of agreement and of disagreement, in the hope that this would increase the understanding and build confidence between them.
The seminar aimed to improve dialogue and contact, clarify the positions of the different stakeholder groups, increase understanding, and initiate a broad-based dialogue, in order to encourage those involved with certification to work together. It also sought to extend discussions that had taken place at earlier meetings to a broader range of stakeholders, especially the developing countries and civil society in order to encourage greater co-operation. A central issue was the comparability and equivalence between credible forest certification schemes.
Some 85 stakeholders from certification schemes, interest groups and organisations in 35 countries spent two days presenting their views on what they wished to see from certification; discussing the current status and experience of co-operation and efforts towards mutual recognition; and assessing what was required for credible forest certification schemes. Producers (large and small), companies, trade associations, unions, social NGOs, environmental ngos, buyers, certification schemes, governments, academics, international organisations and certifiers were represented.
Some of the specific issues discussed were:
· How to improve the comparability of certification standards/schemes;
· Whether mutual recognition between certification schemes is desirable or not;
· What scope there is for mutual recognition;
· What other mechanisms or actions could be considered for improving the certification schemes and their compatibility;
· What some of the main barriers to building confidence among stakeholders are and how these barriers can be reduced; and
· What follow-up action is desirable or possible.
There were divergent views on many of these issues reflecting the rather different interests, values and goals of the various groups. It was highlighted that it is important to recognize these similarities and differences if certification is to be made more effective.
Some participants considered that the proliferation of certification schemes was a problem, while others felt that competition and choice was a very desirable situation. Mutual recognition between schemes, or a variation, was seen by many as one solution to the problem of proliferation, while others felt that it was not appropriate. It was clear that the creation of mutual trust is an important first step if there is to be improved dialogue and cooperation between the different certification processes.
Developing countries indicated that while they may not have difficulty in participating in the international dialogue on forest certification, their constraints in achieving improved standards of forest management and in meeting the requirements of some of the certification schemes tend to be constantly overlooked. Small-scale forest owners and forest communities noted particular concerns on how certification of their forests should be carried out while respecting their rights and views, and on how they could share any benefits of certification.
While there was no consensus on many of the specific issues, the seminar did help to clarify many points, and allowed different stakeholders to explain their positions and the reasons for these positions. It also provided an opportunity for developing countries to indicate the difficulties they face and articulate their needs.
The seminar highlighted the fact that there is still a considerable distance to go before the different stakeholders reach real consensus on many issues, and that further work is needed to bridge the divide that exists. Participants agreed that further direct dialogue is desirable among stakeholder groups, both at national and international levels, in order to build up the necessary mutual trust. There was a desire to continue the dialogue that had been achieved at this seminar, and agreement that neutral organisations such as FAO, GTZ and ITTO should continue to facilitate this dialogue.
The Programme (see next Section) involved six main sessions.
- Opening and Introductory session: which laid the basis for the seminar and its coverage.
- Stocktaking on Collaboration between Certification Schemes: in which three lead papers were provided to set a background to the main issues to be addressed.
- Stakeholder views of credible forest certification schemes: in this a panel of representatives from various stakeholder groups provided their perspective on certification and the factors of significance to them.
- Current status and experience of co-operation and efforts towards mutual recognition: a panel of representatives from various certification schemes and mutual recognition initiatives described their schemes and indicated their views on compatibility and mutual recognition issues.
- Building confidence on the ground: five Working Groups addressed issues of significance for building confidence among the many certification systems and those with an interest in certification. The Working Groups reported back to a Plenary session.
- Finally the Moderator's Closing Remarks presented a brief overview of some of the main points covered in the seminar. These were discussed by the Plenary, but while giving a good overview of the seminar, remain the views of the Moderator and should not be seen as a consensus view of the participants.
TO VIEW
The presentations given in the different sessions can be viewed by clicking on the respective speaker's name on the Seminar Programme. A summary of the main points raised in the working groups is provided and an overview of the issues raised during the seminar is provided in the Moderator's Closing Remarks.
Additional documents distributed during the seminar can be viewed under "Other Documents" in Annex I. Annex 2 provides a List of
Participants.