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Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) pesticides policy and integrated pest management in certified plantations in Brazil
Conference poster

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) pesticides policy and integrated pest management in certified plantations in Brazil

Pedro G Lemes, Jose Cola Zanuncio, Jose Eduardo Serrao and Simon A Lawson
International Congress of Entomology (ICE), XXV (Orlando, United States, 25-Sep-2016–30-Sep-2016)
Entomological Society of America
2016
url
https://doi.org/10.1603/ICE.2016.116823View
Published Version

Abstract

Forestry Sciences
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) was the first non-governmental organization composed of multi-stakeholders to ensure the social, environmental and economic sustainability of forest resources. FSC prohibits the use of certain chemical pesticides in certified forest plantations. A company seeking certification must stop using them and many face problems to comply with these constraints. The aim of this study was to assess the impacts of certification on pest management from the perspective of Brazilian private forestry sector. 93% of Brazilian FSC certified forest companies rated leaf-cutting ants as 'very important' pests. Chemical control was the most important management technique used and considered very important by 82% of respondents. The main chemical used to control leaf-cutting ants, sulfluramid, is in the derogation process and was classified as 'very important' by 96.5% of the certified companies. Certified companies were generally satisfied in relation to FSC certification and the integrated management of forest pests, but 27.6% agreed that the prohibitions of pesticides for leaf-cutting ant and termite control could be considered as a non-tariff barrier on high productivity of Brazilian forest plantations. FSC forest certification has encouraged the implementation of more sustainable techniques and decisions in pest management in forest plantations in Brazil. The ban on pesticides like sulfluramid, and the use of alternatives without the same efficiency will result in pest mismanagement, production losses and higher costs. This work has shown that the application of global rules for sustainable forest management needs to adapt to each local reality.

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