Certification Mechanism for Sustainable Forest Management and Its Progress in China and Abroad

The paper elaborates in details certification mechanism for sustainableforest management, including the definition, contents, objectives, costs, benefits, characteristics, procedures and impacts of certification as well as main certification systems. It also introduces in details the latest progress and development perspectives of certification in China and around the world. Certification is a market-based mechanism, which aims at enhancing and strengthening the reasonable utilization offorests. It usually consists of certification for sustainable forest management and certification of COC. Certification costs, including direct costs and indirect costs, but also benefits, which depends on the level of certification outputs. Internationally recognized FSC certification has been widely developed around the world, and a number of international organizations such as the WB and WWF etc are also promoting the process of FSC certification. Certification has bright perspectives of development around the world, but its process in China is relatively late. Nevertheless, its progress is encouraging now and there are cases of both forest management certification and COC certification. Due to the support of the Chinese Government, the WB and WWF are also promoting the process of forest certification in China. It is sure that certification will havefaster development in China. However, certification has its own complexity, and it has stili a long way to go to realize global certification.