Chhattisgarh Forest Department

NWFP Certification

The group members began with discussing the basic outputs expected from the certification process. It was agreed upon that the general principles should be followed so that certification for process and products may be attained.

 Legal framework comprises a major element in the certification of process and product so it must be seen that –  

• How the forests are managed?  

• What are the forest legal frameworks?  

• Whether these legal frameworks are in consonance with the ten principles laid down by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)?  

• What are the customary and local tribal rights / inter-generational rights?  

• How are people managing the resources at present?  

The legal framework and the system adopted for undertaking certification must be in line with the International Conventions such as the Convention for Biodiversity.

The group also discussed the intergenerational rights of the people and the subsequent benefit sharing mechanisms that would have to be put in place once the forests were to be certified. The group also took the Human Rights Issues into consideration while discussing the certification process. One of the group member also emphasized, "The way we follow forest management guidelines should be in line with the international standards".   

 The group agreed that a certified area ultimately results into:  

• Ecological  

• Social and  

• Economic sustainability  

It was discussed that Chhattisgarh state has 40% area with good forest cover and has a tremendous potential for developing non-wood forest produce as well as the medicinal plants sector in the state. It was agreed unanimously that so far emphasis has been on timber management and now the focus had to shift to the non-wood forest products, which is becoming a prime area.

Till date, management of non-wood forest products is based on the premise of obtaining maximum benefits. However, in order to have economic sustainability from non wood forest produces, there is a need to get better prices for the produce for the benefit of the local people. In this direction, Chhattisgarh has already taken proactive measures and all the benefits accruing from the trade of non-wood forest produce are being extended to the people. 

At present, in Chhattisgarh state, the social sustainability aspect has been observed very carefully and therefore, through various community oriented socio-economic measures, the tribals are now beginning to get remunerative prices for the produces collected or harvested by them. At the same time, the involvement of middlemen is also being eliminated through the efforts of the Chhattisgarh Minor Forest Produce Federation.

The group also agreed in general that since certification of non wood forest products is still at its inception stage and will take a while before it is implemented in full mode, focus should be for certifying products for the domestic markets. Given the circumstances and the stringent quality standards for the international markets, efforts for certifying may get refracted. International quality norms are extremely exhaustive and capital intensive. Foreign buyers are often very inflexible regarding quality of the products and meeting their expectations may require heavy investments during implementation of the certification programme as well as involve expensive infrastructure such as sophisticated laboratory facilities, highly skilled technicians, exclusive packaging materials etc. There have been instances when the entire consignments of herbal products have been rejected on account of minor flaw in meeting upto the pre-determined specifications incurring heavy financial losses to the traders. Thus, certification of non wood forest produce will first have to be established for the domestic market. Certification of non-wood forest produce including medicinal, aromatic and dye plants for international markets may subsequently follow once the channels, capacity and financial stability and infrastructural support are put in place.