Forest Certification in Sustainable Development Healing the Landscape

From recycled products to organic food, the movement to be "environmentally friendly" is now expanding into the forestry field. Recognizing this impact, Home Depot has committed to giving preference to selling "certified wood," proven to come from forests that meet certain biological and social sustainablility standards. Retailers and vendors can offer certified wood through the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and FSC accredited organizations like SmartWood, recently featured in People magazine.

INTRODUCTIONWHAT IS FOREST CERTIFICATION?THE CERTIFICATION MOVEMENTFORESTRY AS AN EVOLUTION IN CONSCIOUSNESSPART ONE, A BRIEF LOOK AT TODAY'S FORESTRYCHAPTER 1, THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATION OF TODAY'S FORESTRY, An OverviewDefining the ProblemPART TWO, SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY THROUGH THE PROCESS OF CERTIFICATIONCHAPTER 2, CERTIFICATION AND TRUSTEESHIPA Certified Forest as a Living TrustThe Importance of CertificationCHAPTER 3, THE HISTORY OF FOREST CERTIFICATIONSmartWoodInstitute for Sustainable ForestryForest Stewardship CouncilThings to Do Prior to Seeking CertificationCHAPTER 4, HOW THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS WORKSIn the ForestChain-of Custody in GeneralCHAPTER 5, SOME OF THE COMMON PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING THE CERTIFICATION PROCESSForest Landowners and Forest ManagersForestryEnvironmentSocial and EconomicChain-of-CustodyCONCLUSIONS

Walter Smith, Chris Maser