Assessment of the Sustainability of Forest Certification in Village Land Forest Reserves in Southern Tanzania

Certification aims to improve the environmental, economic, and governance by ensuring market access for certified forest products, improving control of logging operations, reducing illegal harvesting, and increasing the transfer of funds to forest management, which consequently ensures sustainability. This study conducted an assessment in selected Village Land Forest Reserves (VLFR) in Pwani, Lindi, and Ruvuma regions in southern Tanzania to examine the sustainability of the Forest Certification Scheme (FSC). Data were collected through a review of reports, management plans, and harvesting plans. Other methods included household surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis, while quantitative data were analyzed descriptively and using NPV and sensitivity to estimate the economic profitability and viability of certified VLFR. Results indicate that the certification scheme has enhanced the management practices of VLFRs and some revenue generation. Even though harvesting in the forests in all the villages was far below allowable cut, the sustainability of the certification scheme was found to be questionable in terms of the costs of management, since, without the support of other stakeholders at present could not work out. We concluded that FSC certification under CBFM can only be sustainable if there is an increase in the harvesting levels by 100% and effective marketing strategies of the products from certified forests, which fetch a good competitive price to offset the forest management and the costs for implementing the FSC certification protocols