Assessment of motivation and attitudes of forest industry companies toward forest certification in northwestern Russia

This study explores for the first time the attitudes and motivation associated with forest certification among forest industry companies in northwestern Russia. Interviews were carried out in the form of a structured questionnaire including 35 forest industry companies operating in northwestern Russia. Although development of certification in individual companies was initiated by general market demand, representatives of certified companies also emphasized the importance of internal corporate policy. Certified and noncertified groups of respondents identified market demand as a main driving force influencing development of forest certification. Ensuring the legality of wood origin, company's image and competitiveness of wood products were recognized as the most important benefits associated with forest certification. Absence of mandatory requirements from authorities and customers appeared to be the largest obstacle among both groups of respondents. Representatives of noncertified companies pointed out economic inaccessibility and low level of preparedness of management as of high importance, which is mainly associated with absence of quality management system. The results of the study indicated a general positive attitude on forest certification; it was noticed that respondents have gaps in understanding the principles and limited awareness with regards to forest certification, especially among noncertified forest industry companies.     

Differences in forest management practices in Primorsky Krai: Case study of certified and non-certified by Forest Stewardship Council forest concessions

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) aims to promote environmentally responsible forest management globally. However, quantifiable evidence of effects of FSC on forest management practices is lacking. FSC has been present in the Russian forestry arena for over 20 years. In this case study, we compare ecological indicators of forest management in FSC-certified and non-certified companies in Primorsky Krai of the Russian Far East. Those indicators include percent of forest cover loss and gain on forest concessions managed by three certified and three non-certified companies. We also interview a range of stakeholders involved with forest management or in forest policy planning in Russia to provide context for this case study. Results indicate no difference between certified and non-certified companies with regard to forest cover loss from 2008 to 2015 or forest cover gain from 2000 to 2012. Stakeholder interviews reveal that while forest certification is viewed positively and considered an efficient mechanism to improve forest management, the stakeholders doubt its ability to stimulate quantifiable changes in forest management practices in Russia and the Far East specifically. We focus on Primorsky Krai because of its unique geographic location, where its neighbors China and Japan significantly influence Primorsky Krai’s export market.     

Certification of a Community-based Forest Enterprise for Improving Institutional Management and Household Income: A Case from Southeast Sulawesi,Indonesia

Forest certification for community-based forest management was designed to strengthen an area’s forestry functions while simultaneously alleviating poverty by developing the existing community forest. It is fundamental for forest certification to maintain the economic benefits for certified local sellers and balance conservation goals with increasing local incomes. This study explores how FSC certification of a community-based forest enterprise in Southeast Sulawesi in Indonesia could improve effectively field situations of community forest management and strengthen local peoples’ financial benefits and social perceptions towards conserving forests. FSC group certification was introduced in the area of teak community forest of several villages in 2005. Because of local strong interest in group certification, the size of certified forests, the number of group certification members and the amount of certified wood harvested gradually increased. The support of a local NGO and an international NGO contributed towards successful establishment of group certification and establishment of a small-scale forestry enterprise producing certified wood in a sustainable manner. These NGOs played important roles in establishing strong relationships between producers and consumers, strengthening local forest management institutions, and promising social and economic benefits to the local people.     

中国FSC森林经营认证不符合项分析

作为提高森林经营管理水平、促进森林可持续经营的一种制度创新,森林认证对森林生态保护和建设以及世界林产品贸易均具有影响。森林管理委员会(Forest Stewardship Council,FSC)认证是目前全球最具影响力的森林认证体系,不符合项是针对FSC认证标准层面开具的企业在开展森林经营过程中违反认证标准所包含的原则总和,通过对不符合项进行分析,可以总结出我国已通过认证的森林经营企业经营状况与FSC标准的差距。文中从FSC网站收集中国开展FSC森林经营认证的80家企业的191份审核报告,对FSC认证的发展现状和认证机构开展审核时提出的不符合项进行分析。结果发现,企业在环境影响、森林监测、当地社区、劳动者权利、森林经营方案编制方面与FSC认证标准存在差距。应从加强企业森林认证动力、企业森林认证能力和技术建设以及国家政策支持等方面进一步提升,进而提高森林认证对我国森林经营管理的作用。     

Conversion of forests into oil palm plantations in West Kalimantan,Indonesia: Insights from actors' power and its dynamics

Oil palm plantations have been touted as one of the main drivers of deforestation in Indonesia. This paper aims to explain how oil palm companies accumulate power that enables them to control forestland and convert it into oil palm. Specifically, this paper identifies empirical evidence pointing to why oil palm companies emerge as powerful actors in land use conflicts. This paper uses the case of forest lands claimed by different actors – i.e. a timber plantation company, an oil palm company, and local communities – in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Before the decentralisation policy, the interests of timber plantations were principally safeguarded by coercion from the forest ministry. The timber company was also supported by local communities by promising financial incentives to them. Following the decentralisation policy, additional actors get involved in the land use conflicts leading to more complex power interplays. In fact, some forestlands licensed for timber plantations are used by the oil palm company. Oil palm interests resonate with the economic interests of local governments, who use their legal mandates on land use allocation to facilitate the establishment of oil palm. The power of the oil palm company is also enhanced by the support from local communities, to which it handed more financial incentives than those of the timber plantation. It also used dominant information of customary claims and land appropriation by the ministry of forestry, with which it persuades local communities to pressurize government institutions to support oil palm operations.     

Cleavage in the understanding of sustainability: Sustainable pulp industry versus sustained local livelihood

Abstract

“Sustainability” is used as a catchword, with different meanings depending on the actor. This paper examines how the term “sustainability” is used by the Brazilian pulp maker Veracel Cellulose, and other major cellulose pulp producers in South America, and the cleavage between the companies and the local communities in their understanding of the term sustainability. The analysis was based on annual or sustainability reports from companies in Brazil (Aracruz, Fibria, Suzano and Veracel) and Chile (Arauco and CPMC), and Nordic Stora Enso and UPM. The main emphasis is on Veracel for 2008 and 2009, which is contrasted with a letter to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) from the local Bahian NGO, CEPEDES. Although the companies use “sustainability” as a catchword, in the actual reporting the wording “environmental and social responsibility” is preferred. A new reporting standard, GRI, encourages a narrower focus on selected business-related indicators, rather than a broader view in accordance with the Brundtland and Rio definitions. The cleavage between business- and a livelihood-oriented understanding of “sustainability” reflects a difference in understanding of the underlying concept of “development”. To ensure long-term sustainability of company operations, sustainable business development of the pulp and paper industry should include local livelihood perspectives to a greater extent than at present.     

From logging frontier towards sustainable forest management: experiences from boreal regions of North-West Russia and North Sweden

This article describes the transformation of old-growth forest to managed forests, in North (N) Sweden and boreal regions of North-West (BNW) Russia, from economic, social and ecological perspectives. Whereas in BNW Russia, the logging frontier could be kept moving into unharvested regions, N Sweden earlier had to develop solutions where large-scale logging had already taken place. In 1950–1990, Swedish strategies included rationing of old forest, effective regeneration and also precommercial and commercial thinning. Supporting means were legislation, government-funded subsidies and collaboration among enterprises, researchers and political leaders. BNW Russia is currently facing similar challenges and N Swedish experiences should be analysed and used where applicable. In N Sweden, a too low proportion of representative productive old forests remains, but in the last decades, N Swedish forests exempted from economic use have been significantly increased. Ongoing discussions of also defining areas with more intensive forest management would lead to a zoning, bearing some resemblance to the Russian system, in use since 1943. Russian experience should, therefore, be of interest to Swedish forest policy-makers. Both countries have problems with rural social issues. Both can benefit from collaboration on these aspects of sustainable forest management.     

How does forest certification contribute to boreal biodiversity conservation? Standards and outcomes in Sweden and NW Russia

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is one of the leading forest certification schemes. While many studies concern political aspects and social outcomes of FSC, little is known about the contribution of certification to biodiversity conservation. In Europe, the Russian Federation and Sweden have the largest areas of FSC-certified forest. We assessed the potential of FSC certification for boreal biodiversity conservation in terms of standard content, and outcomes as habitat area set aside and habitat network functionality. First, we compared the biodiversity conservation indicators at different spatial scales in Swedish and Russian FSC standards. Second, focusing on one large state forest management unit in each country, we compared the areas of formally and voluntarily set aside forests for biodiversity conservation. Third, we evaluated the structural habitat connectivity by applying morphological spatial pattern analysis, and potential functional connectivity by using habitat suitability index modelling for virtual species. The Russian standard included indicators for all spatial scales of biodiversity conservation, from tree and stand to landscape and ecoregions. The Swedish standard focused mainly on stand and tree scales. The area of voluntary set-asides for FSC was similar in Sweden and Russia, while formal protection in the Russian case study was three times higher than in the Swedish one. Swedish set-aside core areas were two orders of magnitude smaller, had much lower structural and potential functional connectivity and were located in a fragmented forestland holding. We conclude that to understand the potential of FSC certification for biodiversity conservation both the standard content, and its implementation on the ground, need to be assessed. We discuss the potential of FSC certification for biodiversity conservation with different levels of ambition. We stress the need for developing rapid assessment tools to evaluate outcomes of FSC for biodiversity conservation on the ground, which could be used by forest managers and FSC-auditors toward adaptive governance and management.     

Sustaining Multifunctional Forestry Through the Developing of Social Capital and Promoting Participation: A Case of Multiethnic Mountain Communities

Communities with multicultural, ethnically diverse populations located in forest areas of the Carpathian Mountains often face serious social and economic problems, including high unemployment rates, weak social support and institutions with little stakeholder participation in decision-making. In this paper, we apply participatory scenario processes to address the development of multifunctional forestry in these mountains by taking as an example the case study of Slovensky Raj National Park and specifically focusing on the involvement of local communities, particularly the Roma minority, in sustainable forest management (SFM). The paper argues that development of local institutions and promotion of horizontal and vertical participation to increase social capital is necessary for addressing social and economic problems, managing potential conflicts and sustaining multifunctional forestry development. The results suggest that the way forward is the integration of multi-purpose forest management with community development, and that learning, repeated stakeholder interaction, trust-building and cooperation between and within multiethnic local communities are important preconditions for success. The scenario process applied turned out to be beneficial for both the majority and the minority populations, particularly allowing for discussions about future development of mountain regions, their local economies and communities, and for providing some guidance about what are the preferred actions for participation in multifunctional SFM.     

基于理论基础视角的森林认证运行机理分析

文中基于管理学、经济学、社会学和企业社会责任视角对森林认证运行理论基础进行分析,指出全球化的林业产业供应链是森林认证产生的前提,供应链的可持续性是森林认证产生的内在要求,供应链的干预为森林认证的发展提供了可行性,消费者选择理论是森林认证运行背后的经济思考,制度信任是森林认证制度平稳运行的保证;总结归纳4个理论基础的关系,指出供应链理论是森林认证运行理论基础的核心;分析了森林认证的运行机理,指出森林认证是运用消费者选择、信任和企业社会责任等理论不断改进林业产业供应链的过程。     

Certification of sustainable forest management practices: a global perspective on why countries certify

In this paper, we examine national conditions that encourage the growth of a private regulatory environmental system to govern forests. Economic, institutional and social capital variables for 117 countries are used to examine factors determining forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council and domestic competitor schemes. Although economic factors, such as forest exports and GDP, are important in explaining the likelihood that a country's forest management practices are certified, the regression results support the idea that economic institutions and the social context under which firms and forest landowners seek certification matters. The ability of citizens to influence the political process is also significant; in particular, the likelihood that firms and forest owners will seek to certify their forest practices is significantly reduced if women have little or no effective voice in civil society.     

Certification of sustainable forest management practices: a global perspective on why countries certify

In this paper, we examine national conditions that encourage the growth of a private regulatory environmental system to govern forests. Economic, institutional and social capital variables for 117 countries are used to examine factors determining forest certification under the Forest Stewardship Council and domestic competitor schemes. Although economic factors, such as forest exports and GDP, are important in explaining the likelihood that a country's forest management practices are certified, the regression results support the idea that economic institutions and the social context under which firms and forest landowners seek certification matters. The ability of citizens to influence the political process is also significant; in particular, the likelihood that firms and forest owners will seek to certify their forest practices is significantly reduced if women have little or no effective voice in civil society.     

Certification of community forestry enterprises: experiences with incorporating community forestry in a global system for forest governance

This paper discusses the history and present status of community forest certification as an illustration of the growing interactions between global and local processes in forest governance. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system is analyzed as an illustrative case of the trend towards increased incorporation of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) into international initiatives for sustainable forest management and global markets. First the paper reviews the development of community-based forest management and the evolution in certification of community-based forest enterprises. Next it discusses the main challenges and opportunities for making CFE certification accessible and beneficial for communities. Finally it illustrates the importance of multi-level and multi-actor partnerships for creating effective interfaces between global standards and community forestry practices. The experiences with FSC certification of community-based forest enterprises demonstrate that community forestry is enlarging its scope from autonomous decision-making on local practice to incorporation in international forest governance systems. This experience also demonstrates that the application of global standards for sustainable forest management requires adaptation to local realities. These lessons are of relevance for further incorporation of community forestry in the newly evolving global programs for forest management and conservation.     

The effect of expertise on the quality of forest standards implementation: The case of FSC forest certification in Russia

The central question of the paper is how differences in expertise affect the implementation of voluntary environmental standards in the forestry sector. Specifically we analyze the experience of two large forest companies in Russia that certified their forest management under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certification program. Drawing on the literature on financial auditing we show that specific outcomes of forest management standards implementation are shaped by the differences in forest management auditors' knowledge, skills and attitudes.     

Mapping certified forests for sustainable management - A global tool for information improvement through participatory and collaborative mapping

There are currently no spatially explicit, openly accessible data available on forest certification below national level, so understanding the drivers of certification in the past, examining the scope for further certification and using this information for development of future sustainable forest management strategies is challenging. Hence, this paper presents a methodology for the development of a global map of certified forest areas at 1 km resolution in order to satisfy this information need. Validation of the map with certified areas in Russia showed reasonable results, but the lack of openly accessible data requires broadening the strategy for improving the global certification map in the future. Thus, the second aim of the paper is to present an online tool for visualization and interactive improvement of the global forest certification product through collaborative mapping, aiming at a range of stakeholders including third-party certifiers, green NGOs, forestry organizations, decision-makers, scientists and local experts. Such an approach can help to make more accurate information on forest certification available, promote the sharing of data and encourage more transparent and sustainable forest management, i.e. both producers and users can benefit from this online tool.     

FSC森林认证单位增加社会影响的做法与启示

对4家森林认证管理委员会(FSC)认证单位的森林认证报告和有关文件进行分析,介绍认证单位在社区关系与劳动者权利方面的主要做法,指出了我国森林经营单位存在着单位社会责任认识到不到位,对职工健康和安全重视不够,缺乏与职工和社区居民的沟通协商机制,尚未开展社会影响评价工作等问题,并提出了相应的对策。     

Corporate responsibility reporting by large pulp and paper companies

The forest-based industry has a crucial role in global sustainable development because of its unique raw material basis and increasing internationalisation. Using institutional organisation theory as a background this paper analyses corporate responsibility reporting in the world's ten largest pulp and paper companies, representing 25% of global production capacity. The studied companies have their headquarters in Japan, the Nordic countries or North America, and have very different geographical and cultural bases and variable company product portfolios ranging from wood-based products and printing papers to packaging boards and consumer goods. Both quantitative and qualitative economic, environmental and social metrics from the annual and social responsibility reports of the companies were analysed regarding institutionalised, culture-specific and company-specific characteristics. The results showed that regulated financial and environmental reporting leaves little flexibility for company-specific diversification in reporting. Only a few regional characteristics were identified, mainly in social responsibility reporting, while the reporting largely reflected a general North American–Nordic type of corporate responsibility and the globalisation trend of the studied companies. Regardless of the many challenges in the assessment of corporate responsibility, the concepts discussed in this paper are potentially useful tools for helping to achieve sustainable development in the pulp and paper industry.     

森林认证对白河林业局的影响分析

介绍了白河林业局森林认证的背景,根据实地调研获得的数据资料和在官方网站上收集的资料分析了森林认证对该林业局经济、社会和环境的影响。结果表明:白河林业局开展森林认证在经济上可行,使当地社会受益,对当地环境负责,促进了当地森林的可持续经营。     

Production and markets of modified wood in Russia

Understanding the state of market for modified wood as well as the forces that affect its future development will be essential for those seeking to enter the Russian market. Information on modified wood from websites of companies, research and development organisations, woodworking-oriented magazines and forums, and official Russian statistics were explored, and finally verified by personal contacts with experts. A number of modification methods have been either researched, developed or pre-commercialised during the past 15 years, but only few of them have been adopted by users. Mostly, the modification methods have been copied, further developed and commercialised from variations of thermal modification originally introduced in Western Europe. Modified wood products are still considered premium goods among Russian consumers. Political initiatives aim at increasing the share of wood in construction and renovation but also at import minimisation, which reduces the penetration of foreign producers into the markets. There are approximately 20 producers of thermally modified timber (TMT) with an overall annual capacity of 60,000–65,000 m³. The current annual market for TMT is estimated to be approximately €35–40 million. In contrast to the European mainstream end uses of TMT, there is also a market for massive and glued thermally modified logs in Russia.     

加强中俄森林资源贸易、开发与合作

介绍了中俄森林资源概况.随着中俄经贸关系的发展,中俄林产品贸易一直呈上升势态.文章分析了中俄经贸中的障碍因素:俄罗斯尚未加入世贸组织存在制度差异;环境障碍方面俄方市场意识淡薄、通关手续繁杂、社会治安环境堪忧;观念障碍方面对中国存有疑虑、我国赴俄投资企业内部存在诸多不足.提出了今后加强中俄森林资源贸易、开展与合作的建议.