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Legal vs. certified timber: Preliminary impacts of forest certification in Cameroon

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  • Cerutti, Paolo Omar
  • Tacconi, Luca
  • Nasi, Robert
  • Lescuyer, Guillaume

Abstract

The concept of Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) has a pivotal role for both the Cameroonian legal framework and market-based instruments such as forest certification. We assess the different impacts on timber harvesting of the forest legal framework as compared to the adoption of forest certification, on the ten Forest Management Unit (FMUs) that had received a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification by mid-2009, and discuss some differences between legal and certified timber. Results show that the average reduction in the annual allowable cut (AAC) of concerned FMUs is about 11% when legal harvesting rules are adopted, about 18% when the FSC rules as requested by the certifying bodies (CBs) are applied, and about 34% when the 'FSC logic of sustainable harvesting', as agreed upon on paper by logging companies and CBs, is used. Our findings confirm that forest certification has the potential to improve weak normative frameworks that allow the unsustainable use of forests. However, they also suggest that certifying bodies tend to reduce the stringency of the FSC rules in certified FMUs if not backed by a uniform FSC standard and by a stronger legal framework. We elaborate on the reasons why that may occur and provide suggestions for improvements.

Suggested Citation

  • Cerutti, Paolo Omar & Tacconi, Luca & Nasi, Robert & Lescuyer, Guillaume, 2011. "Legal vs. certified timber: Preliminary impacts of forest certification in Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 184-190, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:13:y:2011:i:3:p:184-190
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. van Kooten, G. Cornelis & Nelson, Harry W. & Vertinsky, Ilan, 2005. "Certification of sustainable forest management practices: a global perspective on why countries certify," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(6), pages 857-867, November.
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    3. Cashore, Benjamin & van Kooten, G. Cornelis & Vertinsky, Ilan & Auld, Graeme & Affolderbach, Julia, 2005. "Private or self-regulation? A comparative study of forest certification choices in Canada, the United States and Germany," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 53-69, January.
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    1. Karsenty, Alain, 2019. "Certification of tropical forests: A private instrument of public interest? A focus on the Congo Basin," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Tim Bartley, 2014. "Transnational governance and the re‐centered state: Sustainability or legality?," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 93-109, March.
    3. A. Marx & E. Bécault & J. Wouters, 2012. "Private Standards in Forestry. Assessing the Legitimacy and Effectiveness of the Forest Stewardship Council," Chapters, in: Axel Marx & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen & Jan Wouters (ed.), Private Standards and Global Governance, chapter 3, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Piketty, Marie-Gabrielle & Garcia Drigo, Isabel, 2018. "Shaping the implementation of the FSC standard: the case of auditors in Brazil," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 160-166.
    5. Blackman, Allen & Goff, Leonard & Rivera Planter, Marisol, 2018. "Does eco-certification stem tropical deforestation? Forest Stewardship Council certification in Mexico," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 306-333.
    6. Guillaume Lescuyer & Raphaël Tsanga & Samir Nziengui & Eric Forni & Claudia Romero, 2021. "Influence of FSC certification on the governance of the logging sector in the Congo basin," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(3), pages 289-304, August.
    7. A. Mosnier & P. Havlík & M. Obersteiner & K. Aoki & E. Schmid & S. Fritz & I. McCallum & S. Leduc, 2014. "Modeling Impact of Development Trajectories and a Global Agreement on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation on Congo Basin Forests by 2030," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 57(4), pages 505-525, April.
    8. Doremus, Jacqueline, 2020. "How does eco-label competition affect environmental benefits? The case of Central Africa's forests," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    9. Chervier, Colas & Ximenes, Arimatéa C. & Mihigo, Blaise-Pascal Ntirumenyerwa & Doumenge, Charles, 2024. "Impact of industrial logging concession on deforestation and forest degradation in the DRC," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    10. Jaung, Wanggi & Putzel, Louis & Bull, Gary Q. & Kozak, Robert & Markum,, 2016. "Certification of forest watershed services: A Q methodology analysis of opportunities and challenges in Lombok, Indonesia," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PA), pages 51-59.
    11. Carlsen, Kirsten & Hansen, Christian Pilegaard & Lund, Jens Friis, 2012. "Factors affecting certification uptake — Perspectives from the timber industry in Ghana," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 83-92.
    12. Mbatu, Richard S., 2015. "Domestic and international forest regime nexus in Cameroon: An assessment of the effectiveness of REDD+ policy design strategy in the context of the climate change regime," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 46-56.
    13. Lewis, Robin A. & Davis, Stacey R., 2015. "Forest certification, institutional capacity, and learning: An analysis of the impacts of the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 18-26.
    14. Nichiforel, Liviu & Duduman, Gabriel & Scriban, Ramona Elena & Popa, Bogdan & Barnoaiea, Ionut & Drăgoi, Marian, 2021. "Forest ecosystem services in Romania: Orchestrating regulatory and voluntary planning documents," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    15. Di Girolami, Erica & Kampen, Jarl & Arts, Bas, 2023. "Two systematic literature reviews of scientific research on the environmental impacts of forest certifications and community forest management at a global scale," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

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