The Role of Certification in Protecting the World’s Forests

Abstract

Since the Industrial Revolution, the global population has grown from 1.6 billion to 6.1 billion, with 80 percent of the growth occurring between 1950 and 2000. The United Nations has projected that the world’s population will surpass 9 billion people by 2050.1 One significant side effect of this growth has been the destruction of the world’s forests—the repository of biodiversity, medicines, livelihoods, water, and carbon. In the past 300 years, forest cover has decreased by nearly 40 percent, with approximately three-quarters disappearing within the past two centuries.2 KeywordsForest ManagementForest Stewardship CouncilForest CertificationCanadian Standard AssociationRainforest AllianceThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.