PAPE R S C ertification of genetically modified forest plantations

Forest and forest product certification systems have grown rapidly in recent years, developing in parallel with the many international, national, and regional initiatives attempting to define and promote sustainable forest management (SF M ) (C arbarle et al. 1995, L awes et al. 1999). T he area certified under the most widely adopted international system, the Forest Stewardship C ouncil, is now over 22 million hectares (F SC 2001a), nearly all of which has occurred since 1995. T he Sustainable Forestry I nitiative (SF I ) Program of the A merican Forestry and Paper A ssociation (A F PA ) reported 30 million hectares enrolled in North A merica (A merican Forestry and Paper A ssociation 2001), also primarily in the last few years. T he intent of certification is to provide a market-based mechanism to encourage and reward SF M (K ajiwara and M alnick 1999), and thereby provide a market advantage over less responsible forestry practices. T he goals of SF M are complex and are defined by social as well as biological criteria. Sustainably managed forests can include those managed to retain as many of their natural ecological qualities as possible while extracting commercial products, to areas managed PAPE R S