Case study: group certification of smallholders in the Dominican Republic

With advice and further training, a group of smallholders in the Dominican Republic are receiving assistance on their way to obtaining FSC certification. The farmers work small stretches of forest and have been trained in applying FSC criteria. In a GTZ project, sustainable management plans were drawn up which the farmers found easy to carry out. However, the social aspects of the FSC standards, such as workplace safety and health, were new to them. As their plots are very small, it makes sense for them to join together to apply for group certification. This also gives them an economic advantage. As a group they can enter into contracts with sawmills that guarantee to purchase their wood at a fair price. Whether the FSC certificate will mean that they can obtain a higher price in future is not so important for the moment. They already benefit by improving their mutual organisation, upgrading forestry practices and securing their usage rights thanks to an enhanced image.

Case study: seminar on forest certification in China

On the Hainan peninsula, the first seminar on sustainable forestry and certification was held with GTZ assistance in 2003. Some years ago, the Chinese Government imposed a total logging ban in natural forests for 17 provinces. In many rural areas this resulted in tax revenue shortfalls, caused unemployment and had severe social repercussions. The Government is now trying to introduce sustainable forestry with a national programme of natural forest conservation and is very interested in certification in accordance with international standards.

Taking part in the training conducted by GTZ were decision-makers from the provincial government and the forestry commission as well as representatives from other interest groups. They were given an introduction to forest certification according to FSC standards, were informed about current certification activities in other parts of China and discussed how to introduce certification in Hainan.