Certification of forestry is a tool that may influence the image of forestry in the eyes of the consumers. Several certification schemes have been developed.

The organization of family forest owners in Europe turned away from FSC, (the Forest Stewardship Council) and instead established the PEFC, the Pan-European Forest Certification to better accommodate the ownership pattern with many small holdings.

So far certification has not, in a global perspective, managed to penetrate those parts of the world where abusive forest practices are most common and where vast forest areas are lost every year.

Some problems in connection with certification are identified, e.g. increasing complexity of rules and the governance of the systems.

To judge the potential for forest certification the attitudes of consumers to forestry and certification is discussed. Different scenarios of the role of certification are identified. The use of labelling as an extension of certification is mentioned.

In the third world certification of forestry may play different roles as compared to in Europe or North America.