A sustainable forest management encompasses all the three components of sustainability, viz. ecological, economic and socio-cultural well-being. It has been defined as as ‘the process of managing permanent forest land to achieve one or more clearly specified objectives of forest management with regard to the production of a continuous flow of desirable forest products and services without undue reduction of its inherent values and future productivity and without undue undesirable effects on the physical and social environment’.

Increased pressure on forest resources of the country over the last few decades has threatened the livelihoods of millions of forest-dwellers and other poor people living in the vicinity of the forests. Forest resources have been important for the prosperity of any nation and its communities. They are an essential natural resource providing multiple benefits to people besides other important functions such as biodiversity conservation, global carbon storage and a storehouse for future option values.

As a result of increasing public awareness and various treaties and conventions all over the world, there is a movement towards accepting only those forest products which have originated from sustainably managed forests. It has emerged as a market-based mechanism in support of sustainable forest management. Certification and eco-labelling are such new mechanisms enhancing forest-product positioning for a premium price on the one hand, and ensuring better managing practices for forests on the other.

For FSC FM Certification, Chain of Custody (CoC) and Control Wood (CW) consultation visit Contact Us page.