Developing sustainability, by Tatu Liimatainen

14 July 2023 Opinion

Tatu Liimatainen, National Secretary of PEFC Finland, reflects on forest management in his country and the important present and future role of PEFC certification in ensuring sustainable development.

In a world of global and local challenges, voluntary forest certification is a valuable tool for promoting sustainable development. Why is it needed, and what is its future?

There is a growing demand and need for sustainable development. Climate change, loss of nature, economic instability, and population growth are just a few examples of the challenges that humanity is currently facing.

The concept of sustainability includes ecological, economic, and social sustainability. Promoting sustainable development requires a constant balancing act between these three interdependent dimensions where different interests must be reconciled through compromise.

Forests are not separate from society, and in many places, they have exceptional economic, ecological, and social importance. For this reason, sustainable forest use must receive constant attention. Legislation, support tools, protected areas, etc., are just some of the many ways to promote sustainable forest management and use, and the diversity of available means indicates the diversity of needs.

One way to promote sustainable management and use of forests is through various voluntary market-based forest certification systems. The basic principles of certification require that different players in the field come together and define the best practices through consensus. PEFC forest certification, which has been promoting sustainable forestry since 1999, also operates on this principle. PEFC certification covers the entire wood value chain and defines the requirements for sustainable forest management in its international benchmark standard.

Although there is always room for improvement, forests in Finland have been managed sustainably, and first-class mechanisms have been actively developed over decades of continuous work. The high certification rate of the forests is proof of this. In Finland, over 90% of the commercial forest area is PEFC certified, indicating that Finnish forest owners, entrepreneurs, and operators have been ready to commit to promoting sustainability. Therefore, PEFC certification in Finland can be considered among the most effective tools, since changes in the national standard’s requirements mean changes in forestry across the country.

In PEFC, our operations are based on continuous improvement, open processes, and transparency. We have always welcomed all parties that are interested in and committed to forest certification to develop our national standards. The standards are updated every five years. The biggest changes in our revised Finnish national Forest Management Standard are aimed at ecological requirements, with the buffer zones width increasing, the number of living and dead retention trees doubling, the density of mixed trees increasing, and making 3.5% of Finland's forest area covered by selective logging.

A record number of more than 60 organizations participated in the revision of the Finnish standard, indicating that belief in and commitment to voluntary market-based mechanisms and their development are still strong.

So, what does the future of forest certification look like? Just like the rest of society, forest certification will also continue to develop. After a few years, we will start looking towards the sixth review of the Finnish PEFC standards. Continuous improvement, therefore, continues. However, one thing is certain: the challenges I mentioned at the beginning have not disappeared, and all means and tools are needed. With this in mind, there surely should be demand and need for concrete market-based actions in the future.

Tatu Liimatainen, Secretary General, PEFC Finland - Suomen Metsäsertifiointi ry