An Analysis of Non-State and State Approaches for Forest Certification in Mexico

Emily García-Montiel,Eusebio Montiel-Antuna,Frederick Cubbage,José Corral-Rivas,Concepción Lujan-Álvarez,Alberto Rojo-Alboreca

doi:10.3390/f8080290

Abstract

Mexico has had a non-state forest certification system under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since it was initiated in 1993, and developed a new state-sponsored Mexican Forest Certification System (MFCS) that began in 2008. Several analyses have been made of FSC forest certification in Mexico, but none have summarized the new MFCS system or compared its standards with FSC. We compare the implementation of the non-state FSC market forest certification with the state-sponsored MFCS system in Mexico, and review literature on forest certification, focusing on all studies in Mexico. MFCS has had substantial enrollment of more than 902,802 ha by 2016, compared to 900,388 ha for the more-established FSC program. MFCS can be acceptable for stand-alone forest certification, and might be viewed as a stepwise path to FSC certification. The merits of both systems are analyzed in terms of standard content, likely sustainable forestry practices, access to markets, and community forestry enterprises.

Highlights

Public concern for the environment has grown remarkably during the last few decades, both in developed and developing countries and, as a result, environmental issues are beginning to take more of a center stage in global economic and trade policies [1]
According to Rotherham [12] there are three main international forest management certification schemes in operation around the world: (i) the International Standards Organization (ISO) which is not a forest management standard as such, but a generic environmental management system standard that can apply to any forest industry; (ii) the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC); and (iii) the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
The first functional forest certification system was administered by the FSC, established in 1993, followed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) in 1999

Summary

Introduction

Public concern for the environment has grown remarkably during the last few decades, both in developed and developing countries and, as a result, environmental issues are beginning to take more of a center stage in global economic and trade policies [1]. Forest certification is a relatively new policy instrument that was introduced a couple of decades ago in order to improve environmental, social, and economic sustainability of forests. A new state forest certification program, the Mexican Forest Certification System (MFCS) was developed in 2008 in the country, and has achieved moderate enrollment levels as well. These two systems—a market-based FSC system [2]. The state-sponsored MFCS system [3]—provide an excellent opportunity to compare the merits and effectiveness of the two policy approaches.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion