German Development Cooperation is tasked with helping to implement the vision of sustainable development as agreed on in Rio. As part of this mandate, the project supports certification initiatives that are guided by this vision and pursue the following conditions for success.

• Balanced sustainability criteria:
  The criteria for sustainable forest management must take ecological, social and economic concerns into account. 
• Objectivity:
  The criteria must be measurable and made public. They should be tailored to suit local conditions. 
• Independence:
  In the interests of credibility, monitoring must be conducted by independent bodies. 
• Certification at enterprise level:
  An incentive to improve forest management can only take effect where operational decisions on corporate goals, resource allocation and management measures are taken. That is why certification only makes sense at the level of the individual operating unit. 
• Reasonable costs:
  The costs of assessing an enterprise should be kept as low as possible and be recovered at least in part by business gains. 
• Participation:
  Including as many interested and affected groups as possible in setting up the certification system and in agreeing on and applying the criteria is helpful in balancing interests and reaching a consensus. 
• National adjustment:
  Certification needs a suitable national framework. A certification system must be governed by national laws and be tailored to suit local conditions. It should be in line with the national forest programme. 
• Alignment with international agreements:
  The system must comply with international conventions and agreements. To prevent market distortions and avoid confusing the consumer, national standards and certification systems should be in line with international standards. 
• Voluntary participation:
  Certification is a free-market instrument founded on voluntary participation. 
• Non-discrimination:
  Certification may not discriminate amongst types of forest, forest ownership or countries. 
• Acceptance:
  The success of certification is gauged by market demand. Ultimately the consumer decides the success of the project.