Forest Certification in Poland

The forest management certification process in Poland was initiated in 1996 by the Regional Directorates of State Forests. The intent was to obtain confirmation of the high level of forest management in Poland and to satisfy the requests of timber products exporters, for whom having a certificate was a necessary requirement demanded by buyers (and later served as a marketing tool). Currently, nearly 85 percent of forest areas managed by State Forests are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. Estimates indicate that some 80 percent of lumber in Poland is FSC-certified, particularly timber for further processing, mainly into wooden construction fittings, pulp and paper, and furniture, and all special grade timber for processing into veneer and plywood. The present market situation of certified timber is driven by customer demand. The greatest achievement of forest certification in Poland is its common use by State Forests, resulting from the documented compliance of the certification rules with Polish forest management rules. In some cases, associating the final effects of certification in Poland with the pressure of different interest groups was perceived as a negative feature of the applied certification methods. It was decided in 2003 to join the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and to start building a certification system based on the PEFC rules, requiring development of a national standard consisting of principles, criteria and indicators for carrying out forest management. forest certification in poland yale school of forestry & environmental studies 237