"Community-based" is another word just like "Sustainable Forestry"
Everyone is using it today, it's the buzz-word of the month, but what does it really mean? I think that we need another global independent third-party
audit system here to clarify what it is, so we can know for sure!

Just like with sound forestry - where it is very difficult to define what is good forestry, but the bad examples are easy to see...
Community-based is also difficult to define, but the bad examples are
obvious to about any conscious person.


Selling good wood in a big discount store is not community-based or            sound forestry.  The forest owner receives the minimum possible  payment, loggers are pressured to get the wood out of the forest as fast as possible, the big industry processes the wood, and it is trucked a  couple of times around the country before hitting the shelves.