|
Forest certification began in Brazil in the mid-1990s, responding to environmental concerns and pressure from international consumer groups. Although such concern was originally a response to deforestation and illegal timber extraction, it soon extended to all forest enterprise, including industrial plantations. Brazil is the largest exporter of short fiber cellulose derived from planted eucalyptus. Its domestic pulp and paper industry is also supplied by large-scale eucalyptus and pine plantations, primarily situated in the threatened Atlantic Coastal Forest biome – a widely recognized biodiversity “hotspot”. Part of a movement toward market-driven standards for production practices, forest-based enterprises sought to certify their operations according to internationally accepted norms.
Although there was a parallel Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) process underway, Brazilian forest industry associations such as the Brazilian Silvicultural Society (SBS) were instrumental in creation of an autonomous national forest certification scheme. This system, entitled the Brazilian National Forest Certification Program (Cerflor), is administered by the national Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO), a government agency connected to the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. INMETRO accredits certification bodies associated with Cerflor. The Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT), a non-profit entity that was a founding member of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the body responsible for the process of development and revision of Cerflor standards for forest management and chain-of-custody practices.
Cerflor was initially proposed by industrial organizations as early as 1991. Though the FSC process also benefited from industry involvement, Cerflor proponents considered it desirable to create the parallel standard to offer companies an option. Furthermore, it represented a protective response on the part of the industry to international environmental groups’ concerns regarding plantation certification by FSC-accredited organizations. By seeking approval of standards through a nationally accredited certification scheme, the industry sought to avert a threatened withdrawal of FSC certification from forest plantations altogether.
Cerflor norms were developed by a Technical Forest Management Sub-Commission under the auspices of INMETRO, divided into groups representing producers, consumers, regulatory bodies, and neutral parties (scientific, civil society and labor organizations). This differs from the FSC structure which has standard-setting chambers divided among social, environmental and economic interest group representatives. Cerflor proponents believe that by engaging government agencies directly in the discussion of standards and monitoring their application and compliance will promote dialogue to improve regulatory procedures. Norms were approved by the Cerflor technical commission for forest plantations and associated product chains-of-custody and auditing procedures in November 2002. Cerflor adopted standards for natural forest management in 2004.
Cerflor achieved international co-recognition by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), as a forest management certification standard in 2005. In seeking such co-recognition, Cerflor’s standards-setting process was placed under scrutiny for compatibility with international criteria. Recognition facilitates acceptance of Cerflor certified products in overseas markets.
After field tests, the Cerflor standards were initially applied in pine plantations controlled by the International Paper subsidiary, INPACEL, in the state of Paraná, and in eucalyptus plantations in southern Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais controlled by Aracruz Cellulose and Cenibra. A total of 880,000 hectares had been certified as of this writing (2006). These certification processes were carried out under contract to Bureau Veritas Qualifor International (BVQI) and by Qualifor SGS, both accredited Cerflor certifiers. Other certification bodies were in process of accreditation.
Cerflor follows norms similar in name to those established by FSC in Brazil, but are considered more process-oriented than FSC. Some critics complain of lack of transparency in the Cerflor process, lack of broad-based civil society representation on its technical panels and unavailability of standards and certification process details to the public. Cerflor’s standards and certification procedures were made available for discussion on-line during their development, but standards documentation, once adopted, is only available to interested parties for a fee, on the grounds that the accreditation organization relies on such fees to cover its institutional maintenance costs. These criticisms have arisen from non-governmental watchdog organizations whose participation in the FSC process has made that scheme considerably more participatory and transparent. However, Cerflor proponents counter that auditing procedures are typically restrictive in terms of public information, FSC being an exception because it is chiefly NGO-driven.
Both FSC and Cerflor certification requirements take as a starting point the forest management criteria defined in Brazilian regulatory law. Government officials welcome Cerflor as part of a generalized move toward independent auditing of forest management, and the role of government on Cerflor’s technical committees may indeed improve harmonization. Yet most Brazilian forest products manufacturers initially opted for FSC certification as a more widely known standard in the international market. This may change in future, and some firms already adopt both standards.
(See also: Best Management Practices; Brazil; Brazilian Atlantic Coastal Forests; Environmental Management Systems; Forest Certification; Forest Industry Associations; Forest Stewardship Council; Sustainable Forest Management: Criteria and Indicators)
References and Further Reading
May, Peter H. (2006) “Forest certification in Brazil”. In: Cashore, Benjamin; Newsome, Deanna. (Org.). Forest certification in developing and transitional societies. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.
Timmer, Christine (2004)Sistema Brasileiro de Certificação Florestal – CERFLOR. The Brazilian Forest Management Certification Scheme. Footprints in the Forest: Current practice and future challenges in forest certification. FERN, Moreton-in-Marsh, United Kingdom. Available for download at http://www.fern.org.
Posted: June 2006
Updated: 21 April 2007
| 
