International environment groups in Australia who have endorsed the FSC need to be aware that they cannot override the very sincere concerns of groups that are more specialised in forest issues. In addition to the obvious need to reduce consumption of native forest timbers, other alternatives need to be seriously considered. These would include plantation timbers, bamboo, hemp and the whole suite of alternatives. PPM's as they are known to trade law aficionados, present major challenges in the debate over the links between trade and environment policy. That such a model has been successfully developed for the controversial timber trade is no small achievement.
Timber is a renewable, functional and aesthetically pleasing resource.
When facing a choice of materials, people with concern for the environment would choose timber over metals or plastics. The dilemma comes when a purchaser cannot tell if the timber they want comes from a well-managed forest or if it was logged in an old growth forest or wilderness area. There is a crying need for a system that rigorously assesses the forest sources and the methods used in extraction so that consumers of timber can be sure their purchases contribute to better forest management, rather than destruction. The FSC's task is to provide an independent assessment of forest management against a set of performance standards agreed between the major stakeholders in the forests debate. The FSC has negotiated a consensus on criteria for forest management from its diverse membership.