The first ever PEFC sustainable forest management certificate in Russia has been issued to Metsäliitto Podporozhye, PEFC announced today. The certificate was awarded after independent review and field auditing verified the company's sustainable management of their forest area in Leningrad Province northeast of St. Petersburg.
"This marks a great achievement for PEFC," commented Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of Geneva-based PEFC International. "PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system, and increasing the area of PEFC certified forests is essential to promote sustainable management practices globally. This certificate marks the start of that growth in Russia".
"We consider PEFC certification is an excellent tool for sustainable forest management in Russia. It offers a real solution for companies wishing to demonstrate best practice in the forest industry", said Mikhail Kobelkov, Vice-Chairman of the Russian National Council of Forestry Certification, which manages the PEFC-endorsed forest certification system in Russia.
The Russian Federation contains an estimated 800 million hectares of forest, the equivalent to over 20 % of the world's forest area and more than Canada and Brazil combined.
While major forest policy reforms are now ongoing throughout Russia to safeguard the long-term management of the resource, export markets in Europe and Asia continue to demand large amounts of Russian wood and wood products. Requiring wood and wood products to be certified is one of the most credible ways to encourage sustainability in the industry.
Forest certification is a market-based, voluntary tool designed to recognize and promote sustainable forest management practices through independent, third-party verification against standards.
"The awarding of this very first forest management certificate today demonstrates to forest managers in Russia that achieving PEFC certification is possible. Furthermore, it signals to key markets in Russia, Europe and Asia, that PEFC certified material is available from Russia and now is the time to demand it," said Gunneberg.