At 12:49 21/06/96 +0800, Nelson Wong wrote: >Question #1. The question of independent certification. Is the FSC truly independent ? If the >certification process is subjected to a payment of professional fees, how would the FSC be more >independent than ,say, SGS for example ? Does this mean that FSC will be totally free of any >vested interest ? The present teakwood scandal in the Netherlands seems to prove neither WWF nor >FSC are totally competent and independent in the certification process. Moreover, richer >companies/countries would have an edge over the poorer ones. Unless, FSC's certification process >is a not-for-profit operation where a third world country has the same access & platform as a G7 >country. > >Question #2. Is the certification process of FSC superior to ISO 14000/14001 ? Would FSC consider >forest health, quality of soil, harvesting methods, fresh water resources, biodiversity, >silviculture treatment, etc...in the final analysis ? If so, are there any published, supporting >documents by FSC available ? In the first place, one would need an army of professionals to >certify any forest as per abovementioned. Do they exist in FSC ? > >Question #3. To certify a forest and its products, an audit trail must be established. This deals >with the chain of custody problem. How would FSC monitor each & every piece of forestry product ? > >Question #4. Who certifies FSC ? > >Any comments anyone ? > Yes, a couple. You seem to be under the impression that FSC will be certifying forest operations/chain of custody itself. As far as I understand, FSC is an accreditation organisation and, as such, will be assessing the competence of other organisations to undertake actual forest certification. So far, four organisations have been FSC-certified (SGS, SCS, Soil Association, Rainforest Alliance). As far as questions of technical competence, independence, fees etc. go, I would advise you to read FSC's manual for the accreditation of certification organisations. It seems balanced, thorough, and professional. Amongst other things, the manual states that certifying organisations must provide ways of supporting the costs of certification for forest managers with limited resources. This provision might help the poorer countries, although it remains to be seen how much assistance will actually be provided. I hope this helps. Yours, Matthew Markopoulos --- Matthew Markopoulos Thailand Environment Institute (TEI), Bangkok Email: matthewm@tei.or.th
Mail converted by
MHonArc 1.1.0