Forestry Certification Oversight Body Established

Following a careful and broadly participatory development process, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is officially established as of September 1994. Now based in Oaxaca, Mexico, the FSC will soon begin accrediting certifying organizations. With the near-unanimous acceptance by member organizations of the final draft of its “Principles and Criteria” the FSC has the potential to become the global watchdog of forest management through an entirely voluntary process.

Although, as with any broadly collaborative process, most members have their complaints, there is a strong general consensus among certifiers that accreditation with the FSC should be a basic requirement for operating in the field. While some industry groups are concerned that the FSC’s requirements may be too stringent, leading certification organizations worry that in practice they may not be upheld tightly enough. “I hope that the FSC will have the muscle to take a stand,” said Debbie Hammel, director of forest certification for Scientific Certification Systems, Inc. of Oakland, California, referring to efforts by some industry and governmental groups to water down the certification criteria.