Intermediate Evaluation of Progress in Achieving the Netherlands Year 2000 Goal for Sustainable Forest Management or Dutch Certification Policy

The project objectives were:

• To give a brief analysis of objectives and instruments of policy.
• To provide a detailed overview of quantities of wood said to come from sustainable managed forests on the Dutch market, at 31/10/98 (if possible separated for certificate/label and country).
• To give an overview of the various measures taken by importers and consumers.
• To indicate to which extent the governmental policy objective is expected to be met.
• To indicate which complementary measures could be taken in case the objective is likely not to be met.
• To give an estimate of the influence of the formulation of minimum requirements and various other initiatives, including FSC and ITTO-2000, on sustainable forest management in the supplying countries and the Netherlands.
• To provide a description of the problems forest managers are facing when implementing the minimum requirements for forest management.
• To draw conclusions and make recommendations for the issues above.

The study was not aimed at evaluating the Dutch policy towards wood and wood product certification and/or sustainable forest management. Moreover, the supply of wood and wood products produced in a sustainable way were seen as a matter of the market, in which the government can only play a stimulating and facilitating role. Finally, it was to be mentioned that the Netherlands are to a high extent dependent on external factors since 90 % of the wood is imported.

Within the study, a comparative approach was followed. The Dutch situation was analysed within its international context, and policies, instruments and effects will be compared with relevant initiatives and (expected) developments abroad.