Latest Trends in Forest Certification in Japan

International efforts are ongoing to develop a system of certifying forests and labeling products from certified forests. In Japan, forests owned by Hayami Forestry Co. in Mie Prefecture, Yusuhara Forest Owners' Cooperative in Kochi Prefecture, Asahi Breweries, Ltd., and a forest owned by Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology and used for experimentation have obtained certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Local governments, forestry cooperatives and family-run forestry companies are preparing to acquire forest certification.

In April 2003, 143,000 hectares of Yamanashi prefectural forest were certified - this was the first time a publicly owned forest was certified. Takashi Fujiwara of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute said it was the largest area certified in Japan, bringing the total of FSC-certified forest area in the country up to about 155,000 hectares.

However, as there are many small-sized forest owners, Japan needs to address several issues in order to smoothly implement the certification and labeling process. A system to manage the process needs to be established and run efficiently, and forestry techniques and practices need to be improved. In this context, groups such as forestry related industries and non-governmental organizations, together with academic experts, are planning to create a Japanese-style forest certification system based on the particular circumstances of the country's forest resources and ownership pattern.


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Posted: 2003/06/28 11:36:33 AM
Japanese version