Forest Certification in India

• In recent years, deforestation has elevated to the status of a highly sensitive worldwide issue, necessitating increased demand for forest certification.
• Deforestation has recently become a highly sensitive issue due to climate change, necessitating the need for Forest Certification to control the importation and sale of items derived from forests.
• During the Glasgow climate conference in 2021, more than 100 nations committed to halting deforestation by 2030 and beginning its reversal.

About Forest Certification

• The independent third-party audits that started the three-decade-old worldwide certification business were intended to examine that management sustainably.
• It is a system for tracking, labelling, and monitoring non-timber forest products, wood and pulp products, and timber from forests.
• It is a method through which the effectiveness of management from environmental, social, and economic viewpoints is assessed in comparison to a number of established standards.
• The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certifications (PEFC) have each created one of the two main worldwide standards. The cost of FSC certification is higher and it is more in demand.
• They do not take part in the auditing and evaluation of the procedures; those tasks are handled by certifying bodies approved by FSC or PEFC.

The Certification's Importance

• To increase their market accessibility to western markets, such as the European Union and the USA, forest-based sectors in India, particularly those for paper, boards, plywood, medium-density fiberboard, furniture, and handicrafts, have been campaigning for forest certification.
• The certification programme aims to enhance India's Forest Management System, which is frequently criticised for a number of problems plaguing the industry, including infringements on forest rights, degradation of the environment, loss of biodiversity, encroachments, a lack of labour, etc.
• There are two different certifications: Chain of Custody and Forest Management (FM) (CoC).
• The purpose of CoC certification is to ensure that a forest product, such as lumber, can be tracked from its place of origin to its point of sale.

India-Specific Standard for Certification

• Only treated wood, not raw wood, is permitted for export from India. In actuality, the amount of lumber taken from Indian forests is insufficient to satisfy domestic demand for buildings, furniture, and other goods.
• Every year, India's forests provide roughly five million cubic metres of wood. Trees outside of forests supply 85% of the demand for wood and wood products (ToF). 10% or so is imported.
• India spends between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 crore annually on wood imports.
• New certification criteria are being established for the sustainable management of ToF because of their significance.
• ToF certification is currently available through PEFC, and in 2022 FSC developed criteria for India that also included ToF certification.

Industry of Forest Certification

• The independent third-party audits that started the three-decade-old worldwide certification business were intended to examine that management sustainably.
• The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certifications (PEFC) have each created one of the two main worldwide standards. The cost of FSC certification is higher and it is more in demand.
• They do not take part in the auditing and evaluation of the procedures; those tasks are handled by certifying bodies approved by FSC or PEFC.
• Instead of requiring the use of its standards, PEFC supports the "national" standards of any nation if they are compatible with its own.

Forest Certification in India

• In India, the forest certification sector has been active for the past 15 years.
• Only one state, Uttar Pradesh, currently has certified forests.
• The criteria have been prepared by the New Delhi-based organisation Network for Certification and Protection of Forests (NCCF).
• Only treated wood, not raw wood, is permitted for export from India. In India, there is a yearly demand for 150–170 million cubic metres of wood, including 90–100 million cubic metres of unprocessed wood. The remainder is primarily used to satisfy the demand for paper and pulp.

Every year, India's forests provide roughly five million cubic metres of wood. Trees outside of forests provide over 85% of the demand for wood and wood products.