Forest certification

Efforts to stem illegal logging by requiring Indonesian timber exports to be certified will prove futile if cheaper, uncertified wood continues to be available on the market, officials said on Tuesday.

Diah Raharjo, director of the Multistakeholder Forestry Program, a collaboration between the Indonesian and British governments, said progress was being made in getting logging firms to comply but there was still much work to do.

Maine Governor Paul LePage signed an executive order directing that “any new or expanded state buildings shall incorporate green building standards that give certification credits equally to forest products grown, manufactured and certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiativ

A long-running violent dispute between the world’s largest teak producer and Indonesian forest communities has been resolved, resulting in the recertification of two Indonesian forest districts by the Forest Stewardship Council

The Forestry Branch of OJSC Ilim Group in Koryazhma (Arkhangelsk Oblast) has gone through audit verifying the compliance with the FSC Forest Management requirements. No significant incompliances with the international standards have been identified during the audit which was carried out by GFA (Germany). After the audit the Forestry Branch was included in the list of Ilim Group Branches covered by the multi-site Forest Management FSC Certificate.