Presentation held by Paolo Cerutti at CIFOR's partners' meeting in Nairobi in February 2015. Kenya faces a chronic timber shortage. This presentation deals with the risks following this problem and explores whether forest certification offers a solution.

1. Timber trade and forest certification
Why they matter in Sub-Saharan Africa?

4. Somewhere in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania...
2015

5. Where to find (a lot of) timber?

6. Yes, it’s already here

7. But why should we care?

8. Introducing “the criminals”

9. ...and more

10. ...and more

11. So, why we should care
 Because we have no detailed data
 Because criminalisation will not reduce the demand
and is very likely to have negative impacts on the
most vulnerable elements of the production chain (i.e.
smallholders and chainsaw loggers)
 Because (political and physical) geographies make
things even more difficult in East Africa (regional vs.
national/sub-national institutions and policy options)
 Because simplistic dichotomies rarely lead to sound
decisions (by policy makers or others)
• Illegal ≠ Illegitimate ≠ Non Sustainable
• Legal ≠ Legitimate ≠ Sustainable

12. Certification as a way forward?
www.cifor.org/fsc

13. Thank you
www.cifor.org/pro-formal