The Log | School News
Duke Forest Assesses Forest Certification Systems
 The
Duke Forest is examining the process of forest certification
as a participant in the Southern Center for Sustainable Forests
(SCFS), a coalition created by the Nicholas School of the
Environment and Earth Sciences, the North Carolina Division
of Forest Resources, and NC State University's College of
Natural Resources.
Certification can provide independent, third-party verification
that a woodland is being managed according to a set of principles
and criteria determined by a particular certification program.
The 8,000-acre Duke Forest, and approximately 55,000 acres
of state-owned and university forests in North Carolina, are
undergoing assessment by the two most widely employed certification
systems in the country - the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC),
an international system developed by environmental organizations,
and the Sustainable Forest Initiative (SFI), which was developed
by the forest industry in the United States.
Following completion of the main focus of the certification
audit process, Duke and the other SCSF parties will then review
the certification systems themselves, evaluating the merits
of the FSC and SFI audit procedures and the criteria used
by the certifiers. The Duke certification assessment team
is being led by the Nicholas School's Daniel
Richter, professor of forest soils and ecology, and
Judson D. Edeburn, Duke Forest Resource Manager.
This project is unique in that the forest researchers and
managers of the Southern Center will evaluate the two systems
of certification at the same time that the certifiers evaluate
forest management by the state and universities, says Richter.
Edeburn says the certification has been a good one for Duke
Forest, "We have had to carefully review almost every aspect
of our management of the Forest. We have found that we were
right on the mark in meeting most of the criteria of both
certification systems, but that we should more fully document
some of our operational policies and procedures." He said
that a primary benefit of this process will be that "We will
have first-hand knowledge on the subject and can provide a
venue for education and research in certification systems."
Funding for this project is being provided by a grant from
the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation through the Pinchot Institute
for Conservation, a non-profit management organization based
in Washington, D.C. The certification review is being coordinated
by Catherine Mater of Mater Engineering in Corvallis, Oregon.
It is scheduled to be completed by December.
more log >
|
