Sustainable forestry — certification operation plans and forestry law
FSC, PEFC and the rules behind a responsible forest
As a forest and nature technician you work within a trade where law and voluntary certification schemes go hand in hand. The Forestry Act sets the legal framework for how conservation forests should be managed while certification schemes like FSC and PEFC add an extra layer of requirements and documentation.
§What does sustainable forestry mean?
Sustainable forest management is about creating a balance in forest management so it is environmentally responsible socially beneficial and economically viable — for both current and future generations. Under the forestry law sustainable management of individual forest protection areas should strive to meet considerations for landscape natural history cultural heritage environmental protection and recreation at the same time as economic management.
§FSC and PEFC — two certification schemes
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) are the two major global certification schemes for sustainable forestry, and both are used in Denmark. The Danish Nature Agency manages the state forests according to both schemes simultaneously. Certification in Denmark can be either individual certification of a single forest property or group certification where multiple forest owners join together. Today, over 350,000 hectares of Danish forest are PEFC-certified — more than half of the Danish forest area.
- 01Certification requires that operations follow a forest standard with specific requirements
- 02The forest owner must establish a policy and a goal for sustainable management
- 03Both individual and group certification are possible in Denmark
- 04The certification must be documented and can be checked externally
§The forest building line and protection lines
The Nature Protection Act's building and protection lines, including the forest protection line, are intended to protect the landscape and preserve forest edges as habitats and dispersal corridors for plants and animals. The forest protection line applies to contiguous private forest areas of at least 20 hectares and to all public forests, and within the line, structures such as houses, sheds, caravans or masts generally may not be erected.
§Certification in practice for you as a professional
In everyday life you feel the certification as concrete guidelines: certain areas must be kept clear, certain considerations must be documented, and the work must be traceable back to the operating plan. It is not extra bureaucracy for fun — it is the proof to customers and society that the timber leaving the forest is harvested responsibly.
“A certified forest is not a forest that is not used — it is a forest that is used with thought.”