Introduction

Concern for forest problems has increased dramatically. The tradition—usually government-led—approach to forest problems has been regulatory. Governments, corporations and other people deriving their livelihood from forests, as well as consumers, need to be in a position to know whether the attention given to certification is justified. Sustainable forest management is an inherent aim of certification. It is the ultimate goal to which certified forests should aspire, but such a goal is reached only through a period of transition, during which management standards are progressively established and fine-tuned. In certification, we prefer to use the term quality forestry to describe a performance of forest management that is considered adequate: ie, that is basic to the transition to sustainable forest management. The focus of a certification programme is at the forest level. Certification cannot assess whether or not a particular forest area should be managed.