Forest Certification in India
T R Manoharan
FSC National Representative for India
01 July 2013
IGNFA Dehradun
Eco labels
Forest Certification
Forest Certification refers to two separate processes:
forest management unit (FMU) certification
is a process that leads to the issuing of a certificate
by an independent party,
which verifies that an area of forest/plantation
is managed to a defined standard
Chain of Custody certificate (CoC)
is a process of tracking wood products from
the certified forest to the point of sale
to ensure that product originated
from a certified forest.
From forests to stores with FSC
Forest Management (FM) certification
Retailer
Processor
Forest
Chain of Custody (COC) certification
Forest Management (FM) certificate
• An internationally recognized forest management standard
• Applicable to all types of forests worldwide, including natural forests
and plantations
• 10 Principles and 56 Criteria, with locally developed indicators
• Forest operators following the FSC requirements with the certificate
can sell their products as FSC-certified
Forest
Chain of Custody (COC) certificate
• Confirm the FSC materials are kept segregated and document
system is properly maintained
• Audited annually by independent certification bodies
• Required for all organizations that have legal ownership of the FSC
certified products who want to:
– Process or transform FSC certified products
– Affix FSC Product Label to show its FSC status
– Pass on the FSC claim to the subsequent buyers through sales and
delivery documents (i.e. the buyers who further process, or want to
make FSC claims about their purchases)
FSC
• An independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization
guided by its multi-stakeholder membership
• Founded in 1993 after the 1992 UN Conference on Sustainable
Development, by concerned business representatives, social groups,
and environmental organizations to promote:
– environmentally appropriate,
– socially beneficial, and
– economically viable
…management of the world's forests
Unique Governance Structure
• Based on participation, democracy and
equity
• Equal voice and power for: social,
environmental, and economic interests,
North and South (industrialized &
developing countries)
© Jurie Senekal / FSC
FSC activities
• Setting standards for responsible
forest management
• An accreditation/certification system
to monitor adherence to FSC
standards
• A product labeling system that
rewards responsible forest managers
FSC Supply - Chain of Custody
FSC -10 Principles
1.
comply with international, national and local laws
and FSC Principles,
2. respect tenure & use rights and responsibilities,
3. protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights,
4. assure community benefits and worker’s rights,
5. generate multiple benefits from the forest,
6. manage and limit environmental impact,
7. compile and follow a management plan,
8. monitor and assess forest management impact,
9. maintain High Conservation Value forests,
10. ensure that plantations comply with FSC principles.
FSC 10 Principles - Revised
1. Compliance with Laws
2. Workers’ Rights and Employment Conditions
3. Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
4. Community Relations
5. Benefits from the Forest
6. Environmental Values and Impacts
7. Management Planning
8. Monitoring and Assessment
9. High Conservation Values
10. Implementation of Management Activities
Why FSC has an international standard ?
FSC Principles and Criteria
•
Provide an internationally recognized standard for responsible forest
management
•
Harmonizing framework for addition of indicators implemented at the forest
management unit (FMU) level
•
FSC Principles and Criteria plus a set of local indicators constitute an FSC
Forest Stewardship Standard
•
Avoid Technical Barriers to Trade rules and meet WTO agreements.
FSC Product Labels
• Affixed by Certificate Holders on products to illustrate the FSC status
of the forest-based content
• Allow end consumer to distinguish products from FSC sources
(1) FSC 100%
(2) FSC MIX
(3) FSC Recycled
All materials are from FSCcertified sources
The materials contain a mix of FSCcertified sources and eligible
recycled fibre, and from FSC
Controlled Wood.
The product is made
from recycled materials
Maintaining an unbroken supply chain
• FSC claim can only be passed down from a Certificate Holder to its
buyers
• If any company along the supply chain is not certified, the FSC claim
terminates at this company, no matter the product has the FSC
Product Label or not
Forest
(Certified)
(Certified)
(Certified)
(Not certified)
(Not certified)
In this case, the Printing House is not certified. Even the Printing House
purchased FSC paper for printing, their productions has lost the FSC
Claim. Hence, the bookshop cannot claims their books are FSC certified
How to pass down the FSC claim
• Upon obtaining FSC COC certification, each certificate holder will
receive two codes:
1.
FSC Trademark License Code
• This code grants the license for using FSC trademark. It is used on
FSC Product Label or Promotional Panel
2.
FSC COC Certificate Number
• This code refers to the certificate obtained by the companies. The
COC Certificate Number has to be written on the sales document
(e.g. invoice / delivery document) to pass down the FSC claim
1. FSC Trademark License Code
The symbol, ® or TM, refers
to the registration status
of FSC trademark in the
product distribution region
Randomly generated six digits
code, specific to each Certificate
Holder, different from the FSC
COC Certificate Number
FSC® C000000
“C” refers to “Certificate Holder”
FSC Product label
Affix on end-products to show
the FSC status
It contains the FSC status,
100%, MIX, or Recycled
Promotional Panel
Used in promoting FSC as a
system of the FSC status of
products (e.g. on promotional
materials / websites / reports)
2. FSC COC Certificate Number
Randomly generated six digits
code, specific to each
Certificate Holder
Abbreviation of the
Certification Body
SGS-COC-000000
The type of certificate obtained,
COC or FM/COC
To pass down the FSC claim
FSC COC Certificate Number and FSC status
of the product must be written on the sales
document
How to check the materials is FSC certified
• Certified products need to be described as such on sales document
(e.g. invoices) with an accompanying FSC COC Certificate Number of
the supplier
• ‘Vague claims’ or documentation are not accepted
–
–
–
–
–
–
Statements about company policy
From a “sustainable source”
ISO 9000 or 14001 certification
‘our company has an FSC chain of custody’
Copy of FSC certificate
Phyto-sanitary certificates
Procedures for checking
1. Look for COC Certificate Number and FSC claim for each item
2. Verify the company’s FSC certificate at FSC Online Database,
http://info.fsc.org or with the certification body directly
Supplier validation
Check the supplier FSC COC Certificate Number
to confirm the validity of the company
Forest certification in India
Description
2007
2012
No of Chain of custody
Certificates
4
354
FSC Certified Forest
Management Areas (Ha)
688
418018
FSC Forest Management Unit Certificate (FM/CoC) in India
Area
Certificate Holder
(Ha)
Species
State
New Ambadi Estate (P) Ltd
Year
2007 and
688
(Rubber)
Tamil Nadu
12 Sept 2012
928
Eucalyptus camaldulensis;
Acacia mangium; Eucalyptus
tereticornis
Orissa
3 Nov 2011
10643
Eucalyptus tereticornis;
Eucalyptus spp; Acacia
harpophylla; Eucalyptus pellita;
Dalbergia sissoo; Leucaena
leucocephala; Eucalyptus
urophylla; Eucalyptus urograndis
Karnataka
13 Dec 2011
8028
Eucalyptus spp;
Andhra Pradesh
22 Feb 2012
19561.49
Eucalyptus spp; Gmelina
arborea Roxb.; Dalbergia sissoo;
Acacia mangium; Melia
Tamil Nadu
azedarach L.
6 July 2012
Bhamaragarh Forest
Division, Maharashtra
Forest Department
(Government of
Maharashtra State)
378170
Tectona grandis;Terminalia
spp.;Bombax ceiba L; Dalbergia
sissoo; Pterocarpus marsupium
Roxb.; Dendrocalamus strictus
12 Dec 2012
Total
418018.49
Patneswari Agri. CoOperative Ltd. (PACL)
Society for Afforestation,
Research And Allied Works
(SARA)
ITC Limited - PSPD Unit
Bhadrachalam
Tamil Nadu Newsprint and
Papers Limited
Maharashtra
FSC
Support from Business and NGOs
Govt. initiatives
Ministry of Environment and Forests
• National Working Group on Forest Certification by MoEF in May 2005
• Three committees: Certification Criteria, Certification Processes, Accreditation Criteria
& Processes
• First meeting of three committees, October 2007
• Constituted NationalForest Certification Committee(NFCC) by merging three
committees (Chair: Dr Maharaj Muthoo).
• First meeting of NFCC Dec 2008
• NFCC submitted Final Report in Sept 2010 with recommendation to establish Indian
Forest Certification Council (IFCC)
• Stake holder consultations conducted by the MoEF in 2011 at various levels and
prepared a frame work.
• IFCC is not yet established.
EPCH, Ministry of Textiles
• Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), set up by the Ministry of Textiles,
Govt of India is providing incentives for certification for wooden handicraft exporters.
Challenges
• Inadequate awareness on the benefits of forest certification in
domestic markets
• Absence of approved national standards or indicators for
forest certification. In the absence of local
standards/indicators, Certification Bodies will use interim
standards developed by them for certification.
• Lack of policy guidelines from the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Govt. of India to third party, voluntary and private
certification schemes to forests/plantations managed by the
government.
• Cost of certification, in particular to SMEs.
Opportunities
• Green Public Procurement
• FDI in retail sector by MNCs (many of them have committed to
FSC globally)
• Legality requirements in International Markets: US Lacey Act (
amended in 2008), EU Timber Regulation, effective from 3
March 2013, Initiatives in Australia, Japan.
• Linking with programmes and projects (both Govt and
Corporate) to support sustainable standards
• FSC established Standard Development Group in India in 2012
to develop national standards/local indicators for India to the
FSC International Standards.
Suggestions
• Policy guidelines on Forest Certification on Government
Forests/plantations.
• Incentives for forest certification, support to small
holders, farm forestry/social forestry schemes at various
levels
• Promote Green Public Procurement to generate demand
in the domestic market
• Create awareness on the benefits of certification
• Support the development of national standards,
indicators with a view to adapt certification in the
national and local contexts.
Thank you