Forest certification is conformity assessment of system of forest management to established international standards for forest management and forest use on the principles of sustainable development. The purpose of forest certification is to ensure economic, environmental and social balance of sustainable forest management through the implementation of universally relevant and those standards that are credible.

Ecologically responsible forest management assure that harvesting of wood and other forest related products does not endanger biodiversity, does not reduce productivity, and supports the implementation of environmental functions.

The socially oriented forest management helps both local and business workers and society as a whole to achieve long-term benefits, as well as create strong incentives for the local population to conserve and manage forest resources on the basis of long-term plans.

Economically viable forest management means that forest management provides sufficient economic benefits without irreversible loss of forest resources, degradation of the quality of ecosystems and damage to local communities. The contradiction between the need for profit and the impact on the forest can be minimized by implementing the full range of products and services of forest ecosystems at the best value.

Implementation of accredited certification activities carried out by international or national companies. These certification procedures guarantee the independence, impartiality and objectivity of forest management in any country.

Independent evaluation and confirmation of responsible forest management is not only the market demand but gradually becomes part of the laws of developed countries in particular EU countries. As a result, the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement contains a clause whereby the parties commit to promote trade in legal and sustainable forest products. Besides other this means implementation of procedures and compliance with certification standards.

In Ukraine there was worked out the international forest certification scheme of the Forest Stewardship Council (Forest Stewardship Council®, FSC) – an international non-profit non-governmental organization which aims to promote responsible forest management worldwide. For more information about FSC can be found on its official website: https:// ic.fsc.org.

As of 16 October 2021, area of certified forest in Ukraine reached 3.72 million ha. All certified forests are under subordination of State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine.

Information about certified forests of enterprises under the control of the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine can be found at: https://ua.fsc.org/ua-en/fsc-facts-figures-in-ukraine

Certified forests are uneven distributed and mostly concentrated in the western and northern regions of the country.

Certification is conducted by three forest management certification organizations: NEPKon company (official site: www.nepcon.net), company «SGS South Africa» (official site: http://www.qualifor. sgs.com), Company «Lesnaya certification» (official site: http://www.fcert.ru). All companies have their units or offices in Ukraine.

 FSC has National office in Ukraine: tel.: +38 044 223-68-45; email: info@fsc.org.ua, https://ua.fsc.org.