Forest Certification in Mexico

Forest certification has become well established in Mexico and has obtained the recognition of government forestry institutions, forestry professionals, the forest export industry, and many forest Ejidos and communities. The combination of early NGO involvement in funding and promoting certification, market demand for FSC certified products from industry, and federal and state-level government incentives has been key in promoting certification. As of July 2004, there were 32 FSC-certified forestry operations covering nearly 600,000 hectares in Mexico, which is nearly 7 percent of Mexican forest area with a federal forestry permit. Where implemented, FSC certification in Mexico has had an array of effects: it has increased the use of forest inventory and monitoring, recognized the silviculture developed by forest communities and ejidos, and facilitated these groups? access to national- and state level resources that promote sustainable forestry and adaptive management. At the same time, certification has not changed important problems such as illegal logging. And recently, leading members of certified ejidos and communities have begun to question the importance and advantages of forest certification, as long-promised economic benefits have failed to materialize in many cases. While a number of initiatives are being undertaken to help strengthen markets for Mexican certified products, it appears that economic incentives will have to increase if forest certification is to have an enduring impact on conservation efforts.

Autores: Anta Fonseca, Salvador