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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a slow
start, it seems summer may finally be on its way to Minnesota! The fishing
opener was chilly enough to entice only the most dedicated anglers, but
the tomato plants survived the late frost and the strawberry plants are
now in full bloom - so there is hope!
- Jeff
Dovetail Commentary: Market-based Certification Systems Innovations in
Family Forest Certification:What's Happening & What's Needed -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D o v e t a i l C o m m e n t a r y Market-based Certification Systems Addressing the real interests of the market Forest certification has been in place now for over a decade and after that fairly short period of time has achieved an awareness level in the general marketplace that probably hovers somewhere around zero, statistically speaking. Sure, there are thousands of individuals globally that have heard of forest certification. But if that group is considered as a proportion of the planet's billions, or even simply as a percentage of those residing in developed nations, the number is extremely small. Yet one goal of certification has always been to provide customers with a choice – to, in fact, offer them the opportunity to direct their purchases toward products that have the least negative impact on the environment. In other words, certification has the goal of rewarding good environmental behavior and providing an alternative to boycotts that are designed to punish the bad (e.g., the old carrot versus stick approach). However, the complaint commonly heard from companies that have put the effort and expense into becoming certified is “our customers are not requesting certified.” So the question arises, is this perceived lack of customer demand a result of a general lack of interest or awareness, as discussed above, or due to some other cause? To read the commentary, visit: http://www.dovetailinc.org/DovetailComm0506.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D o v e t a i l R e p o r t s All publications are available online at: http://www.dovetailinc.org/publications.html Innovations in Family Forest Certification: What's Happening & What's Needed Kathryn Fernholz Certification has increasingly become common practice for owners and managers of large forest holdings. Industrial interests, state and county land management agencies, forest license holders, land trusts, and even TIMOs and REITs in North America are participating in forest certification programs. However, even as certification on these large ownerships continues to expand, a cost effective certification solution for small landowners in the United States continues to be elusive. A previous Dovetail Report explored the specifics of both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and American Tree Farm System (ATFS) programs and their relevance to small forest ownerships. This
current report on Innovations in Family Forest Certification
provides information about recent research related to the certification
of family forestlands in the United States, efforts being made by the
ATFS and FSC programs to improve access to certification for small ownerships,
and some key barriers and areas where continued effort is needed. In colonial America, wood was the foundation on which society was built. Buildings and furniture, spinning wheels and looms, dishes and pails, wagons and carriages, dingys and ships, bridges and sidewalks, plows and hay rakes, milling machinery and sawmills, and products of every kind and shape were made of wood. Wood was also a major fuel source, used for heating and cooking and as the principal fuel of industry. Wood use was not based on research, but rather on wood's abundance, range of inherent properties, ease of conversion to useful products, and long history of use in places of origin for Americas immigrant population. Interest in finding a way to preserve wood to eliminate or slow decay processes provided an impetus to an early field of inquiry in what would later become known as the field of wood science.
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