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Comments from the Editor - Dec. 2011

Written by Art W. Klassen Thursday, 16 February 2012 10:23

Comments from the Editor

In the Indonesian forestry scene, it is sometimes said that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Perhaps this time it is different.

For this issue of the “Reduced Impact Logging & Certification” newsletter, we have chose to focus (almost) entirely on Certification.   Indeed, 2011 has seen some remarkable successes in certification among the Indonesian forestry community.

There is no doubt that ‘The Borneo Initiative’, a certification funding platform launched in January 2010, has dramatically increased the interest in forest certification.   The three concessions certified this year with the financial help of this initiative, speaks more eloquently to the success of this initiative than any platitudes that have come before.

TFF has played a crucial role in all of this, not just as technical advisor to the successful concessions, but also in the broader sense of its policy of engagement and promotion of reduced impact logging as a ‘win-win’ strategy for Indonesia’s concessions.

We also feature the success of Perhutani assisted by the Tropical Forest Trust in achieving certification for the first two management units.

The achievement of Certification of sustainable forest management, is a recognition of excellence awarded at the international level.  It’s attraction is the market advantages that such recognition brings to the successful participant.  However, the success stories of 2011 presented in this newsletter, need to be understood in the context of the fact that certification can be just as hard to maintain as it is to achieve.  In the past year, three Indonesian concessions have lost their certification, but that is another story for another time.

For more in-depth coverage of these and other recent developments, explore our website at www.tff-indonesia.org or contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it