FSC reflected in scientific and professional literature

Forest Stewardship Council
Hirschberger’s study (2005) 124 of the only two certification reports existing from Estonia states
in the summary:
“Ecologically valuable wet forest site types and ecosystems in natural water bodies will be
conserved and restored, as the FSC certification bans the construction of new drainage
systems and limits the reconstruction of new ones. This is an important improvement, as
wetlands cover about fifths of the country and an extensive network has been established
in the forest during the Soviet time.”
Biodiversity in Sweden
Hirschberger (2005) 125 analyzed audit reports of 22 FSC certified forest management units
(covering a more than 10 Million ha) with 473 Corrective Action Requests raised since 1997.
He found that
“in Sweden, which started from a relatively high level of forest management, FSC
certification has led to improved planning and use of forest residues for biomass in order
not to compromise biodiversity management, (and on social issues the rights of the Sami
people are now formally respected and addressed in forest management)”.
Illegal logging and certification of conservation in Germany
The certification of the forests of the National Park units Boddenlandschaft and Jasmund in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany had been suspended in 2007 because the certification
bodies had revealed illegal timber harvesting and bad wildlife management. The certificate
was re-issued in July 2008 after the implementation of the corrective actions: prosecution of
the illegal logging companies and, establishment of a working group on wildlife management,
studies on wildlife and on their impact on forests, and implementation of the study results into
the planning of hunting strategies. The responsible Minister for Agriculture, Environment and
Consumer Protection Dr. Till Backhaus summarized on July 2nd, 2008 that after the successful
implementation of the corrective actions suggested within the FSC certification process,
124 Hirschberger, Peter (2005): The Effects of FSC-certification in Estonia: an analysis of CARs. WWF Forest Programme.
18 p. http://www.panda.org/downloads/forests/finalanalysisestonia.pdf (as of June 2008)
125 Hirschberger, Peter (2005): The Effects of FSC-certification in Sweden: an analysis of CARs. WWF Forest Programme.
25 p. http://www.panda.org/downloads/forests/fscanalysissweden.pdf (as of June 2008)
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