Abstract
There are currently no spatially explicit, openly accessible data available on forest certification below national level, so understanding the drivers of certification in the past, examining the scope for further certification and using this information for development of future sustainable forest management strategies is challenging. Hence, this paper presents a methodology for the development of a global map of certified forest areas at 1km resolution in order to satisfy this information need. Validation of the map with certified areas in Russia showed reasonable results, but the lack of openly accessible data requires broadening the strategy for improving the global certification map in the future. Thus, the second aim of the paper is to present an online tool for visualization and interactive improvement of the global forest certification product through collaborative mapping, aiming at a range of stakeholders including third-party certifiers, green NGOs, forestry organizations, decision-makers, scientists and local experts. Such an approach can help to make more accurate information on forest certification available, promote the sharing of data and encourage more transparent and sustainable forest management, i.e. both producers and users can benefit from this online tool.
Highlights
Forests are the host to very different uses such as timber production, recreation, habitats for biodiversity, water management and animal husbandry, and in some places, are subject to the rights of indigenous people and local communities
We selected the hybrid forest mask produced by Schepaschenko et al (2015), which has a number of advantages including the fact that it is based on a multi-sensor remote sensing approach, is consistent with FAO-Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) statistics and has a resolution of 1 km, which is the same resolution at which the forest certification map is produced
Russia and its vast boreal forest areas in Siberia as well as large parts of China and Mediterranean Europe show the largest area of currently uncertified forest and high potential for future forest certification in the northern hemisphere, even though the actual potential will depend on the quality of management
Summary
Forests are the host to very different uses such as timber production, recreation, habitats for biodiversity, water management and animal husbandry, and in some places, are subject to the rights of indigenous people and local communities. To capture and balance all of the different services and uses of a forest, the concept of sustainable forest management was developed. Sustainable forest management has multiple objectives and is of vital importance for various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, e.g. SDG 15 on "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss"), and for the greenhouse gas balance among many other benefits. Forest certification was supported by environmental groups to address concerns about deforestation and forest degradation and to promote the maintenance of biodiversity. Forest certification has developed into one type of tool for the implementation of sustainable forest management. Many certification schemes have since emerged, where the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) are the two most prominent private schemes
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