Timber certification is the latest response to the crisis in global forest management. In this case, it is an explicit recognition that government policies are failing to stop forest degradation and loss. It attempts to harness consumer pressure and market forces to achieve sustainable management, both in secondary forests and in natural forests outside protected areas. The idea of timber certification did not emerge until the 1990s. Since then, progress has been rapid. The Forest Stewardship Council(FSC) -which plays an analogous role to that of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IPOAM) in accrediting certification bodies - was formally launched in 1993. As a result, people setting up the FSC were ahle to draw on decades of experience amongst organic producers. Several were active practitioners or supporters of organic agriculture. Future FSC staff consulted with the IFOAM secretariat, both about legal structures and more philosophical issues.
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