Responsible forest management

Certified wood products come from responsibly managed forests. The largest certification scheme is The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). An FSC certification confirms that the forest is being managed in a way that preserves biological diversity and benefits the lives of local people and workers, while ensuring it sustains economic viability.

Why sustainable forests?

Principles of responsibly managed forests include:

• Recognition and respect of indigenous people’s rights.
• Reduction of the environmental impact of logging activities.
• Maintenance of the ecological functions and integrity of the forest.
• Promotion of the restoration and conservation of natural forests.

Sustainable forests

Today, around 11 percent of the world’s forest area is certified. That’s about 4 million square kilometers or 1 billion acres.

Certification not enough

Forest certification schemes have been criticized for not meeting the aims of protecting forests and human rights. For these reasons Greenpeace ended it’s cooperation with FSC in 2018.

It’s important to underline that the current forest certification schemes will NOT solve the huge challenges the world’s forests are facing. Much more is needed.

An average of 28 million hectares of forest are being cut down every year.

With the current rate of deforestation, the world's rain forests will be gone by 2100.