Nov 11, 2004. /Lesprom Network/. Stora Enso Wood Supply will test FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) forest certification in Finland. The training of Stora Enso's own personnel, forest authorities and interested forest owners has now started. The goal is that three to five forest owners in southern Finland will carry out FSC group certification. "Particularly in Finland we need practical solutions for group certification because of the large number of forest owners and the small size of individual forest holdings. This illustrates the challenge of adapting universally approved international principles to local conditions", says Matti Karjula, Senior Vice President, Wood Supply Finland. So far there is little experience of FSC forest certification in Finland. The first results of the pilot project should be available in spring next year. They are expected to indicate the effectiveness, costs and suitability of the FSC certification system in Finland. Additionally, the parties expect to gain a better understanding on the interest of forest owners in the system and the reactions of markets. The results of the pilot project will be used to propose improvements to the FSC standard and group certification model. These suggestions will be presented to the Finnish FSC working group, which is preparing the national FSC standards. "The Finnish FSC Association is following Stora Enso's group certification pilot project with great interest because it will provide valuable information for developing the Finnish FSC Standard", says Professor Tari Haahtela, Chairman of the Finnish FSC Association. The aim of the pilot project is to develop alternatives for forest certification. As most Finnish forests have already been certified under FFCS (Finnish Forest Certification System), double certification should promote the dialogue between the FSC and FFCS forest certification systems. In the long term, double certification can also contribute to mutual recognition of the various systems. Stora Enso promotes forest certification in all areas in which it operates and the pilot project supports this target. Due to the global scale of operations and different conditions, Stora Enso sees a need for more than one forest certification system. Common in Europe are FSC and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes), the umbrella of FFCS.