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As well as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), there are several other forest certification schemes in operation. The three largest are the Pan European Forest Certification Scheme (PEFC), the Sustainble Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Canadian Standards Association's Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA).

The launch of these schemes has caused a stormy debate in forestry discussions. In general NGOs have been critical of their standards and procedures, which are much less stringent than those established by FSC. The SFI is of particular concern. In 2000 a coalition of NGOs involved in the certification debate produced a joint statement (May 2001, PDF, 24k) denouncing the PEFC, the SFI and the CSA.

Fern's report Behind the Logo (May 2001) makes an in-depth comparison of the four biggest forest certification schemes. The report analyses the strengths and flaws of each scheme and concludes that the FSC scheme is currently the only independent and credible scheme on the market.

The Certfication Publications page includes many more NGO statements and reports assessing different certification schemes.

For more information on the PEFC from an NGO point of view: http://www.pefcwatch.org/