private sector, civil society and sustainable development

1. private sector, civil society and sustainable development some lessons from the forest sector Presentation prepared for the World Civil Society Forum Geneva 16 July 2002

2. plan • The example of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) • brief historical background • structure and level of input by civil society and private sector • examples of impacts • lessons learned

3. FSC - background • Founded in 1993 • representatives from environmental and social groups and private sector • accreditation organisation • promote responsible forest management world-wide • as a reaction to perceived inefficiency of governmental initiatives

4. FSC - background • Today • more than 500 members • from around 65 countries • nearly 30 million ha certified under FSC accreditation • 80 % in North - 20% in South • reflects market flows • benchmark for certification • has emulated the creation of “competitors”

5. FSC structure - input from civil society & private sector Country 1 Country 2 Country 3 NWG NWG NWG CS CS CS PS PS PS s.e.e.? s.e.e.? s.e.e.? international secretariat national standard CS Board of Directors accredited certification body PS Membership CS econ. env. social PS international standard FSC Principles and Criteria

6. Chain of custody FSC system - certification process • Incentives: • premium • market access • civil license to operate • others • securing land rights • access to fund • etc. CS PS forest FM assessment processing and distribution chain national standard accredited certification body consumer

7. example 1 - Indonesia • certificate contested • illegal logging by communities • further evaluation by certification body • illegal logging by communities (subsistence) • commercial illegal logging (3 mills) • measures • subsistence logging included in management plan • closure of 3 mills • 1 mill owner in prison

8. example 2 - Sweden • standard states “long term employment guarantied” • certified company outsources its logging operations • more than 100 jobs lost • certificates threatened to be withdrawn • measures • negotiation through the CB • most jobs recovered • only a few employees dissatisfied

9. example 3 - Gabon • Through certification process • fishponds for employees(curb bush meat consumption) • schools for employees children • research station in the forest • ongoing contact with local NGOs • Certificate contested • issues around the definition of a protected area

10. example 3 - Gabon • Some NGOs launch a boycott campaign against the parent company in Germany • Company decides to drop certification process • All benefits lost

11. lessons learned • Certification • needs a global system • performance based, sector specific • empowers actors to take their own responsibility • can be an effective tool to transfer someincentives and control mechanisms to civil society • involvement by external actors • may be detrimental • need at least to be mitigated with collaboration with local ones

12. lessons learned • Certification is not a panacea • in itself, does not solve structural problems, nor lack of capacity • markets are difficult to change • some certified operations can’t sell their products • needs flexibility to adapt to small scale and low intensity operations • need to maintain system robustness • common challenge for all types of certification

13. lessons learned • With growing success i. e. behavioural changes in practice and better recognition in the marketplace - not necessarily end consumers • becomes a political instead of technical debate