A Comparison In The Standard Of Forest Certification Between China And Portugal And A Study On Potential For NTFP Certification Of Forest Food In Zhejiang Province

Identification of forest food(bases)has been conducted for more than ten years in Zhejiang Province,but none of the forest food has been got non-timber forest product(NTFP)-certified.PEFC Portugal adopts the Pan-European Criteria for Sustainable Forest Management,and Portugal is a country in which most of PEFC-certified non-timber forest products are produced.Comparisons were made not only in the standard for certification between China and Portugal but also between the standard for identification of forest food(bases)and that of China Forest Certification Council(CFCC)for certification.Meanwhile,a comparison was performed between the results from field investigation of production in hickory,Torreya grandis ‘Merrillii' and moso bamboo(shoots)and certification standards,based on which challenges and potential for NTFP certification of forest food in Zhejiang were analyzed with a view to promoting NTFP certification and internationally marketing of forest food.The results and challenges found are as follows:(1)China Forest Certification Scheme and the Portuguese Forest Certification Scheme are both PEFC-accredited forest certification systems,which have certified the majority of PEFC-labeled nontimber forest products(NTFPs).Based on a comparision between China and Portugal,it has been found that China is different from Portugal in the certifiction system,standard structure,certification procedure,the temporal requirement for correction of non-conformities,and the valid period of a certificate,but both countries are similar in the content of standards.In addition,the forest certification system of our country is established and promoted by our government,but it is not the case with the Conselho da Fileira Florestal Portuguesa(CFFP)-led certification system.In Portugal,forest managers are voluntarily involved in forest certification.(2)There is no unified standard for identification of forest food(bases)in Zhejiang Province.A comparison conducted between the standards used as a reference in the identification of forest food(bases)in Zhejiang and those of CFCC has revealed that the former do not have contents regarding laws and regulations,are incomplete in the content related with forest management planning,technical training and file management,stress more in technical criteria and environmental requirements than in sustainable socio-economic development,and include pesticides to different hazardous extents internationally in the pest control.As a result,there are gaps in standards between certification and identification of forest food(bases).In addition,identification of forest food(bases)is mainly conducted by government,and farmers are not active and enthusiastic about it.So far identification of forest food(bases)has been stopped while forest certification is based on voluntary actions of certification applicants.(3)The reform in the forest ownership system has changed previous centralized management of forestland to decentralized management,each of which has advantages and disadvantages.Based on the investigation on the production of three NTFP species viz.hickory,Torreya grandis ‘Merrillii' and moso bamboo(shoots),it was found that the forestland in our province has been mostly allocated tohouseholds,peasants manage the forestland by the household and different forms of organization such as cooperatives have occurred.And now that the rural population is aging,the younger generation is reluctant to be engaged in forestry operations.If the forest food identified in Zhejiang would take the certification of non-timber forest products,a concept of sustainable forest management should be established first,based on which reasonably organized production and management should be conducted in terms of organizational forms and the methods adopted in the production and management.(4)Most people at the grass-roots level lack a basic understanding of sustainable forest management including NTFP certification and certification requirements.Therefore,training at various levels should be strengthened.At present,NTFPs produced are mainly marketed domestically.The driving force for certification,especially that for domestic certification,is a challenge for NTFP certification.