This issue is about ecologically sound forest practices. The following is copied from the web site noted above:
Third-Party, Performance-Based Certification: What Public Forestland Managers Should Know By Catherine M. Mater (e-mail: mater@mater.com), V. Alaric Sample, James R. Grace, and Gerald A. Rose
Two state forests and one county forest have completed pilot programs testing verification of sustainable forest management by outside organizations. Among other goals, each agency wanted to assure citizens that their forests were well managed and to create models for nonindustrial private forestlands. All three agencies' performance was certified, and areas marked for improvement had already by targeted by staff. The certifed then evaluated the certifiers and found them generally professional and technically competent, if occasionally unrealistic. Reaction from environmental organizations, which are cautious about promoting certification for public lands, has been mixed. JOF 97(2):6-12
High Expectations, Unexpected Benefits: What Managers and Owners Think of Certification By Jeffrey Hayward (e-mail: hayward@interchange.ubc.ca) and Ilan Vertinsky
Interviews were conducted to determine the motives and record the experiences of US forest owners and managers whose forests were certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Nonindustrial private forest owners sought certification largely out of a commitment to forest stewardship; they consider the cost of meeting contract conditions part of the normal business of improving their practices. Industrial private, public, and professional resource managers expected a price premium for certified wood. Although higher profits haven't been realized, many of those surveyed said the certification process let them examine their practices without the political calculations that debates on forestry often trigger. JOF 97(2):13-17
Will Consumers Pay More for Certified Wood Products? By Keith Forsyth (e-mail: Keith-Forsyth@ltsi.co.uk), David Haley, and Robert Kozak
Insight into customers' attitudes toward certified wood products can help gauge whether a viable market exists. When buying wood products, people in our sample-300 customers in the British Columbia home improvement market-shop first for quality and then for price. Although environmental attributes, including certification, are less important than many other criteria that consumers consider, some say that they are willing to pay a premium for certified wood products; whether they would actually do so is another question. Cluster analysis provides a profile of the consumers who might be likely to purchase certified wood products. JOF 97(2):18-22
Forest Regeneration Practices: How Regional Certification Standards Compare By Sharon T. Friedman (e-mail: Friedman_Sharon/wo@fs.fed.us)
A review of standards for forest regeneration in 11 regional certification schemes reveals some slight shifts from current local practices. Although forest management in much of the United States is already incorporating many of the practices the standards seek to promote, certification under these schemes would likely result in more natural regeneration and maintenance of a greater diversity of species. Except in special cases, there would be less need for genetic engineering and more attention to local seed collection and seed zoning, and thus a need for better seed certification. Economic consequences for industrial forestry might include some forgone opportunities. JOF 97(2):23-32
The Challenges of Certifying Nontimber Forest Products By Alan R. Pierce (e-mail: arpierce@together.net)
Certifying the ecological, economic, and social aspects of nontimber forest product management is complex and requires prudent application. The social issues surrounding access and utilization of nontimber forest products, and the informal economic systems under which many of these goods are traded, may be poorly addressed by a market-based initiative such as certification. Nevertheless, certification may benefit certain products, and the process of developing and testing certification standards for best management practices of nontimber forest products will benefit researchers and managers, and perhaps also the communities that harvest these critical forest resources. JOF 97(2):34-37
<Peter Torres>
Posted
Reply to post by Peter Torres, on February 20, 1999 at 00:56:53:
