Since its inception
nearly 15 years ago, environmental certification has become
an important issue in the wood products industry. Certification
was first introduced in the early 1990s to address concerns
of tropical deforestation and forest degradation. Since
that time, the scope of certification has expanded greatly
to encompass both temperate and tropical forests across
the globe. The overarching objective of certification
is an attempt to address public concerns about perceived
negative impacts of forest production activities on the
natural environment. As a result, certification under
a multitude of schemes or approaches has proliferated
in developed and lesser-developed countries. In addition
to being a potential tool for market access, certification
is intended to improve environmental conditions resulting
from forest management.
