ABSTRACT
The Smart Wood Certification Programme began in 1989. This certifies well-managed and sustainable sources of tropical timber, as well as companies that sell certified wood in raw or finished forms in the US market. Forestry operations can enrol in the Smart Wood programme as ‘pre-certified members’, but only after a field-level, pre-certification assessment has taken place. The Scientific Certification Systems (SCS) established its Forest Conservation Programme (FCP) in 1991. The FCP is a third-party forest management certification programme designed to distinguish and recognize ‘well-managed’ forest operations in which timber products are produced in a manner that sustains the timber resource, maintains the forest ecosystem, and meets minimum financial and socio-economic criteria. SGS Forestry’s certification programme was started on 1 April 1992. This programme covers all forests. In 1992 the Soil Association established its Responsible Forestry Programme to carry out education and research into responsible timber production and to provide an ethical and well-regulated basis for the certification of timber.
