Rol de las autoridades forestales de gobierno de Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala y El Salvador en el proceso de certificación de madera

Abstract

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo general determinar el grado de involucramiento, de parte de las autoridades gubernamentales que tienen o que potencialmente tendrían que participar en los procesos de certificación de madera de Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala y El Salvador. La metodología utilizada para recabar la información, se basó, en primer lugar en identificar los informantes calificados en las dependencias de gobierno que estuvieran relacionados con el sector forestal o en su defecto con el sistema certificación de madera, para los países en estudio. Los principales resultados de la investigación indican que los informantes calificados de las dependencias de gobierno de los países en estudio en términos generales se pronunciaron hacia la participación del Estado en el proceso, con un rol hacia la promoción e incentivación, además los resultados indican que, el Estado no quiere ejecutar la certificación, pero quiere tener bien claro como se manejan los procesos de promoción de madera certificada, de forma transparente y correcta.

Interpretation was made based on descriptive and comparative statistical techniques and variance analysis (ANDEVA) between countries and between attributes, in order to establish which variables determine the position identified by the experts in relation to the role of governments in the wood certification process. The principle results of the investigation indicate that the qualified informants from the government sectors of the countries in this study are generally, in support of state participation in the certification process. Participation should be realized through the roles of promotion and incentives. Furthermore, the results indicate that the state is not interested in carrying out the certification process, but does seek clear and well-defined processes for the transparent and correct promotion of certified wood. It is also evident that the governments of the study region are not interested in having a direct role as certifying bodies, yet they are interested in the continuation of their role as law markers and permanent evaluators of the certification process. The results also clearly support the fact that government officials of the countries evaluated do have the technical capacity in forest management matters and the organizational capacity to allow for the amplification of new functions in the certification process, however these governments are lacking in the resources to be able to stimulate the certification process. In general terms, this study first recommends the search for human and financial resources, whether at the national or international level, to promote and motivate the wood certification process. The second recommendation is the prioritization of actions for the implementation of wood certification processes in Central America in such a way that local and regional capacities are strengthened. The final recommendation is the promotion of the necessary legal and political reforms that motivate regional initiatives of the certification processes.