ABSTRACT

A forest management certificate demonstrates that a forest is being managed in accordance with a defined level of practice. This may be useful for owners and managers of forests seeking investment, government or donor support or to provide stakeholders with a confirmation of good management practices. However, if the products of the certified forest are to be sold as products of a wellmanaged forest, it is essential that there is a mechanism for tracing the products to the forest of origin. This is the chain of custody. Inspection and verification of the chain-of-custody can result in chain of custody certification. Most certification schemes have developed rules for chain of custody certification that allow products from forests certified under their scheme to be traced to market and labelled as such.