Puneet Dwivedi

Georgia is gifted with abundant and healthy forests that cover about 24 million acres or about 65 percent of total land in the state. …But are economics and sustainability always at odds? …This has led my team of researchers at the University of Georgia to examine whether market-based, non-state forest governance works and whether it can fit with existing and evolving government regulations to encourage sustainable forestry. By way of background, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)’s Fiber Sourcing Standard encourages best practices in forest management. …The SFI Fiber Sourcing Standard is particularly useful in Georgia. …Our study found that the implementation rate of best management practices was higher on those family-owned forestlands which were located within the procurement areas of mills certified to the SFI Fiber Sourcing standard. This suggests a voluntary, market-based approach to encouraging good forestry in Georgia is working.