7 April 2014, IISD news - The Center for International Forestry  Research (CIFOR) has released a paper on the social benefits of forest  certification in the Congo Basin. The publication examines certified forest  management units (FMUs) in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo and  concludes that certification leads to improved working and living  conditions.

The paper, titled 'Social Impacts of the Forest Stewardship Council  Certification – An assessment in the Congo Basin,' notes that, compared to  non-certified FMUs, certified forests tend to deliver better conditions for  employees, maintain improved relationships with communities around the logging  area, and respect, to a greater degree, the rights of local and indigenous  peoples.

Specific social benefits identified in the paper include: access to basic  services such as clean water, health facilities, waste collection and treatment,  and electricity. Certified FMUs also registered better housing facilities and  improved health and safety conditions for workers. Finally, certified FMUs had  stronger and more socially acceptable institutions for conflict resolution and  benefit sharing and, as such, maintained more positive relationships with other  forest users.

Overall, the paper attributes improved social benefits to the implementation  schedule and review and evaluation process required for certification noting  that, in some cases, logging companies took on an enforcement role where  national regulations were weak or poorly enforced.

Source: http://forests-l.iisd.org/news/cifor-reveals-benefits-of-certification-in-congo-basin-forests/