Abstract
The forestry sectors of the respective countries within the Congo Basin region are aware of the essential roles of forest to their communities and are hence making efforts to manage it. Unfortunately, forests are being degraded and reduced in size at an alarming rate, mainly due to unsustainable management practices (Akinwande 2012). Voluntary Standard Systems (VSS) may help to overcome the situation. In an effort towards more responsible forest management, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards of certification were adopted in the region to promote social, economic and environmental balance in forest management. Since FSC’s adoption, over 5 million ha of forest have received certification for this increasingly recommended approach (Hakizumwami 2011). Also the number of companies seeking certification has increased. Nevertheless, a larger area of the Congo Basin forest and many logging industries in the region has remained uncertified. The impact created since the emergence of FSC in the region is very important for the sustainable management of the region’s forest but has not been fully reported.
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Diangha, M.N., Wiegleb, G. (2014). The Adoption and Impact of Forest Stewardship Council Standards in the Congo Basin Forestry Sector. In: Schmitz-Hoffmann, C., Schmidt, M., Hansmann, B., Palekhov, D. (eds) Voluntary Standard Systems. Natural Resource Management in Transition, vol 1. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35716-9_15
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