Displaying items by tag: PEFC

White truffles from Muzzana del Turgnano, a small town in Northern Italy between Trieste and Udine, have become the world's first truffles to obtain PEFC certification. 

"While the main focus of PEFC as the world's largest forest certification system is promoting sustainable forest management and certified timber, the importance of certified so-called 'non-timber forest products' cannot be underestimated," said Antonio Brunori, Secretary General ofPEFC Italy. "These products often represent a significant source of income for rural communities (all over the world) and are an integral part of local people's lives. In addition help in increasing their connection to the forest, that is certified for its sustainable management : this certification of one of its products will help them in comunicating their territory and natural resources, enhancing the value for tourism and hospitality activities."

"Furthermore, non-wood forest products allow us to better inform the public about the benefits of certification as people can relate more to forest derived products such as truffles, essential oils, mushrooms and even beer - products that they can experience with all of their senses. Timber products such as wooden beams, paper, or furniture tend to be of a more 'functional' nature and therefore do not convey the message of sustainability that well," Mr. Brunori continued.

The truffles are harvested by-hand in the region's PEFC-certified "Baredi Forest" - covering over 160 hectares of communal land. The Muzzana white truffle boasts a unique odour and is considered to be very tasty and of high value to chefs everywhere, and has a retail value of around €3,000 per kilo.

Certification of the truffles was pioneered by the "Associazione Muzzana Amatori Tartufi" (Muzzana Amateur Truffle Association) and involves a system that assigns 'barcodes' to each and every truffle harvested on behalf of the association. In addition to originating from PEFC-certified forests, this system also ensures that the truffles come from local forests, namely the Baredi Forest.

"The white truffle is the most valued of all underground fungi and represents a great example of the value that non-wood forest resources offer to local communities," said Enore Casanova, President of PEFC Friuli-Venezia Giulia. "Only local people with the required skills and experience in harvesting are allowed to pick these certified truffles, and we are very proud to have harvested the first PEFC-certified truffles in the world."

The market thrives on competition, a concept that also applies to certification schemes. As a  second example of forest certification to be presented in this issue, PEFC International illustrates the importance of certification and the benefits it can bring. As only a small proportion of the world's forests are certified, having a number of reliable players working towards the same goals of sustainability and viability can only be of benefit to companies and other stakeholders.

Much like a forest, new ideas sometimes take a long time to grow and mature. Over time, both forests and ideas become more complex and diverse. Likewise, as a healthy tree that has roots spread in all directions, so the concept of sustainable forest management needs has been drawing from many different sources to produce a specific result.

Today it is accepted that sustainable forestry relies on three integrated and equally important concepts: those of economic viability; ecological soundness; and social justice. To miss any one of these elements dooms any attempt to achieve sustainability in forest management, just as in development.

But this knowledge - given the life span of many trees or human cultures – is a relatively new concept. It wasn't that long ago that we did not understand how necessary it was to have a convergence of the three pillars of sustainability. Today many activities that aim to promote sustainability still focus primarily on one pillar, sometimes with adverse effects on the others.

The concept of sustainable development and the interrelationship of the three pillars was originally popularized in the 1987 Brundtland Report, yet it was at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 where the idea finally took hold. The Rio Earth Summit also led to the initial efforts to define sustainable forest management in the precisely titled "Non-Legally Binding Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of all Types of Forests." The message coming out of the Rio Earth Summit — that nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes and behaviour would bring about the necessary changes — was heard by millions around the world.

The message reflected the complexity of the problems facing us, and governments recognized the need to redirect international and national plans and policies to ensure that all economic decisions fully took into account environmental and social impacts.

The Summit resulted in five documents that have fundamentally influenced the way our global society views sustainable development:

• The overarching document, the Rio Declaration, defines the rights of people to development, and their responsibilities to safeguard the common environment
• The Agenda 21 document has become a blueprint for action by all types of organizations and initiatives globally, nationally, and locally
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have both become legally binding documents
• The fifth document, the Forest Principles, is the least well known, yet with its preamble stating that "Forests are essential to economic development and the maintenance of all forms of life", its relevance to the overall concept of sustainable development appears self-evident. Governments, however, could not agree on a globally enforceable framework for sustainable forestry.

The challenges facing the world's forests, and the inability of governments to act, resulted in the birth of the idea of forest certification. This voluntary mechanism provided forest owners with a framework to implement the spirit of the Forest Principles, with guidance on how to manage forests sustainably, and with the opportunity to demonstrate and validate their responsibly practices through independent certification.

Over time, forest certification has become one of the most important tools for the global society to promote sustainable forest management. However, despite major strides in certification, only nine per cent of the world's forests have been certified and 90% of these are in Europe and North America. Similarly, despite some progress in alleviating poverty around the world, population growth means that, in real terms, the number of people living below the poverty line remains high. Poverty is a major cause of deforestation and illegal logging. This situation is further complicated in rapidly emerging economies where land tenure rights have been, to date, ill-defined, weak and still evolving.

Certification, such as PEFC– the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, is one of the mechanisms that offer the potential to contribute to improving livelihoods, particularly in developing countries, and to assist in lifting people out of poverty. Certification is a mechanism that will also assist us in moving towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, notably that by 2020 forests are to be managed sustainably and forest loss is to be halved. This, however, requires us to mainstream forest certification throughout the world and especially in the Global South. To achieve this, all forest certification systems and stakeholders must seek to ensure that our collective efforts to expand forest certification are additive and not duplicative, contributing to an expansion of the overall total certified forest area.

In a world where deforestation continues unabated in many nations, stakeholders must collaborate whenever possible. While PEFC is the larger of the two global forest certification systems, we must utilize the different approaches offered for the betterment of society as a whole. We must agree on a common framework to guide forest certification and its stakeholders in their actions. The Rio Forest Certification Declaration, launched in 2010 in Rio de Janeiro, is based on the idea that a common set of principles is needed, a set of principles that provides guidance to all of us about what is needed to better promote and expand forest certification.

It recognizes in its preamble that "The challenge of safeguarding the environmental, social and economic benefits that the world's forests provide is critical for life on Earth. It requires a world in which people manage forests sustainably, a world that recognizes the integral and interdependent nature of our planet, a world that acknowledges and values the significance of rural communities, indigenous peoples, and families that depend on forests for their livelihoods" and states ten principles as a common framework to maximize the benefits that forest certification can offer to society:

• Human beings are at the centre of sustainable forest management
• Recognize and respect national sovereignty in the design and implementation of sustainable forest management policies and standards
• Protect the complexity of forest ecosystems, forest-dependent economies, and rural culture by adopting integrated forest management plans and policies
• Contribute to poverty reduction through empowerment of the poor
• Open and accessible stakeholder processes are essential
• Transparency, inclusiveness, and collaboration are fundamental prerequisites for global sustainability
• Utilize the benefits of renewable and climate-smart forestbased products
• Rely on science, local experience, and traditional forest-related knowledge to advance sustainable forest management
• Use a precautionary approach to prevent irreversible damage
• Promoting global acceptance of sustainable forest management through voluntary programmes and education is the fastest path to healthy forests and vibrant rural communities.

The Rio Forest Certification Declaration picks up on ideas that have previously emerged in other documents, including the 1992 Rio Declaration, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Agenda 21, the UN Charter, and the Forest Principles, to establish a framework that all stakeholders should be able to support.

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets require us to manage forests sustainably, and to balance the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainability. Without all three, forests will not be protected, family foresters cannot thrive, forest dependent communities cannot exist, illegal logging will not be abated, and carbon pollution will not be mitigated.

Forest certification has proven to be one of the most effective and successful mechanisms to promote sustainable forest management. This movement needs further support and guidance, and principles such as those outlined in the Rio Forest Certification Declaration may provide the necessary framework to allow forest certification to thrive and further develop.

As the Aichi Biodiversity Targets require the commitment of all of us, so does forest certification. With only nine per cent of the world's forests certified as sustainably managed after 17 years of forest certification, and over 90% of these forests located in the Global North, it behoves all of us to identify and remove the barriers for expanding sustainable forest management and its certification, especially in the Global South.

"Forest certification has proven to be one of the most effective and successful mechanisms to promote sustainable forest management. This movement needs further support and guidance, and principles such as those outlined in the Rio Forest Certification Declaration may provide the necessary framework to allow forest certification to thrive"

Forest certification, guided by globally applicable principles such as those laid out in the Rio Forest Certification Declaration, should be integrated in the work of all stakeholders in order to best contribute to the achievement of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

Geoff Gorrie, Chair of Australian Forestry Standard Ltd, announced today that Richard Stanton had been appointed as the National Secretary of Australian Forestry Standard Ltd. 

"Richard will take up his new role on 11^th October 2011 and his main focus will be the oversight of the revision processes for both the Australian Forest Management Standard AS 4708 and the Chain of Custody Standard AS 4707 as well as continuing the growth of the company."

"Richard is well qualified to lead the company through its next stage of growth and development. He has been involved in the forest and wood and paper products industries for many years. He comes to this new leadership position from an extensive term as the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Plantation Products and Paper Industry Council (A3P). Richard also has experience at both the State and Australian Government levels."

"The Board of Australian Forestry Standard Ltd looks forward to working with Richard to continue to promote the benefits of certification both in Australia and internationally through the company's accreditation by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes."

Geoff Gorrie also wished to express the Board's appreciation of the efforts and achievements of the parting Chief Executive Officer, Kayt Watts.

"Kayt has worked tirelessly to promote the Australian Forestry Standard brand and develop the company. The growth in Chain of Custody certification in Australia and the resulting logo licence agreements to display certification logos on wood and paper products over the last three years has been remarkable. The company's management systems and governance are on a sound footing for further growth and development."

The Board would like to wish Kayt well in any endeavour that she commences when her contract expires on 12^th October 2011.

PEFC International has unanimously approved the application of the China Forest Certification Council (CFCC) to join the world's largest forest certification system.

"The Chinese commitment to sustainable forest management and forest certification is to be welcomed," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Secretary General. "China is the country with the fastest growing forest area globally, and a dominant player in the global forest products market with a growing domestic timber demand and a competitive export-oriented industry. With the Chinese forest sector embracing forest certification, a major step forward towards mainstreaming sustainable forest management is being made."

China currently has the highest afforestation rate of any country or region in the world, increasing its forest cover from 12% twenty years ago to more than 20% by 2010. With more than 200 million hectares of forest, China is one of the most forested countries globally, and is continuing to implement policy measures to increase the quality and quantity of its forests. The total output of the forest sector is expected to reach 2.26 trillion Chinese Yuan by 2012 and employs close to 60 million people.

"Joining PEFC is an important milestone towards international recognition of the Chinese forest certification system," said Mr Wang Wei, Deputy Director General of the Center of Science and Technology Development, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) of China. "PEFC offers us an important forum to share experiences and knowledge, and may eventually assist us in accessing markets for wood products originating from certified forests."

More than 3.4 million hectares of forests in China are expected to become certified to CFCC in 2011, following an agreement between the Beijing Zhonglin Tianhe Forest Certification Center and the Yichun Forest Authority announced earlier this year.

By joining PEFC, CFCC has fulfilled an important prerequisite for applying for PEFC endorsement, a step that is expected in the near future.

"We have been promoting PEFC certification in China for the past four years through a dedicated Promotions Office, and are looking forward to working closely with CFCC towards international recognition," explained Mr. Gunneberg.

The national forest certification systems of the Czech Republic and France have become the latest systems to seek PEFC endorsement for the third time. Stakeholders globally are invited to provide feedback on their compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks by 28 October 2011.

With PEFC International limiting the validity of endorsements to five years, national schemes must be revised in multi-stakeholder processes and apply for re-endorsement to continue benefitting from PEFC recognition.

As part of the endorsement process, PEFC seeks comments and feedback from all interested parties to ensure full compliance of the national systems with PEFC's Sustainability Benchmark during a 60-day global public consultation.

"We require stakeholder engagement throughout the standards development and endorsement processes at both national and international levels," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Secretary General. "In-depth involvement of all interested parties ensures that a scheme reflects the best practices and incorporates available knowledge and expertise, and is aligned with their expectations and needs."

Arguably, PEFC has the most rigorous assessment process for national certification systems seeking international recognition. In addition to the comprehensive and inclusive process at national level, all standards are subjected to an independent third-party evaluation, global public consultation, a review by the Panel of Experts, and consideration by the PEFC Board of Directors before PEFC members decide about the endorsement of a particular national system.

All comments received during the global public consultation will provide valuable information for the third-party assessor in determining whether the respective national system is in compliance with international requirements.

Interested stakeholders are invited to use PEFC's Online Consultation Tool to provide comments by 28 October 2011.

The Irish Forest Certification Standard is seeking endorsement by PEFC for the first time, and interested parties from around the world are encouraged to participate in the global public consultation, an important element of the independent assessment process, by 22 September 2011.

"We're pleased to be able to present the Irish Forest Certification Standard for assessment to PEFC International," said William Merivale, Secretary General of PEFC Ireland. "Irish forests have never been certified to a nationally approved forest certification standard that was developed in multi-stakeholder, participatory processes, so this standard is a major step forward for the credibility of forest certification in Ireland."

The PEFC Irish Forest Certification Standard was prepared during an intensive 21-month period in an inclusive and transparent process involving a balanced representation from economic, social and environmental interests with knowledge of the Irish forestry sector.

It has also been designed to comply with existing Irish and European forest management guidelines and legislation, including the Pan-European Operational Level Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management agreed at the third Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe in Lisbon in 1998. The standard was subject to national public consultation and pilot-testing.

Forestry is of increasing importance in Ireland. At the turn of the 20th century, Ireland's forests covered only 1% of the country's surface area, however in just over 100 years there has been a tenfold increase, and now extends to almost 11%. Of this, 55% is owned by the State, and 45% by private forest owners. The wider forest industry now employs about 16,000 people and accounts for approximately 1% of GDP.

"Given the increasing demand for PEFC-certified timber, we are eager to be able to provide forest owners and managers with the option to obtain PEFC certification for their sustainable management practices," said Mr. Merivale.

The Irish Forest Certification Standard is now being independently assessed for compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks. The global public consultation is part of the assessment process, providing stakeholders worldwide with the opportunity to comment on the standard.

Both the Canadian Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CAN/CSA-Z809-08) and the Canadian Sustainable Forest Management for Woodlots and Other Small Area Forests (CAN/CSA-Z804-08) have been endorsed by PEFC International, the world's largest forest certification system announced today."

"It is satisfying to see that it has been possible to deliver a workable standard that responds to the specific needs of Canadian woodlots owner and at the same time complies with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks," said Peter de Marsh, President of the Canadian Federation of Woodlot Owners (CFWO), which initiated the development of the standard in late 2003."

"Canadian woodlots are on average less than 40 hectares in size and generally owned by rural families, with particular values that the standard needed to address. This standard gives woodlot owners across Canada, which together produce approximately 15% of the Canadian wood supply, access to the benefits of PEFC certification."

CAN/CSA-Z804 - Sustainable Forest Management Standard for Woodlots and other Small Area Forests was developed by the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) Technical Committee on Sustainable Forest Management. The main requirements are based on the Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management approved for Canada by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM).

The standard is very similar in structure and content to CAN/CSA-Z809 SFM Standard, which first achieved PEFC endorsement in 2005. The requirements have however been adapted where necessary to meet the practical realities of managing small forests owned by families, communities and other organizations.

Both standards have been subject to an independent assessment for compliance against PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks and public consultations at both national and international level.

53 woodlot owners in Nova Scotia have already broken new ground with certification to the standard in a pilot program supported by the provincial government. The program has now grown to cover 92 woodlot owners and 107 woodlots.

Peter Duinker, Professor of Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University and Chair of CSA's Sustainable Forest Management Technical Committee, said, "This is a milestone achievement for sustainable forest management in Canada. I'm so proud that the first woodland certified to this standard is right here in my home province."

As part of the endorsement of forest certification systems, PEFC requires that schemes undergo a rigorous and independently verified re-endorsement process every 5 years. The Brazilian Forest Certification Programme (CERFLOR) is the latest PEFC member to achieve re-endorsement.

The standard setting process for the CERFLOR system was carried out at the national level by the Brazilian Association for Standardization (ABNT). PEFC is the only global certification system that requires all standards to be independently developed with the open participation of all interested stakeholders at national level in a consensus-driven decision-making process. This ensures that the standard best meets local requirements with local stakeholders taking ownership.

Unique in the world of forest certification, all national standards seeking PEFC endorsement are subject to a stringent endorsement process. This includes an independent assessment that verifies the compliance of standards derived through national processes with PEFC's Sustainability Benchmarks, a global public stakeholder consultation period, and a Panel of Expert review before all members vote on the endorsement.

"The re-endorsement of CERFLOR by PEFC is an important milestone for local stakeholders. In addition to confirming that the Brazilian standards are in compliance with PEFC's internationally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks, the endorsement secures continuing access to markets that increasingly demand PEFC-certified material," said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General. "More than fifty percent of all timber imported into the UK is PEFC-certified, and the most recent data available from the Netherlands suggests that the market share of sustainably produced timber has more than doubled between 2005 and 2008, with two-thirds certified to PEFC."

"Forest certification is becoming mainstream in many parts of the world, with PEFC Chain of Custody certification experiencing double-digits growth rates in more than two-thirds of all countries where PEFC is present. CERFLOR's international recognition through PEFC ensures that Brazilian forest owners that demonstrate compliance with and are certified to CERFLORs forest management requirements benefit from global demand for PEFC-certified timber. It also sends a strong signal for Brazilian companies exporting to global markets to obtain PEFC Chain of Custody certification."

CERFLOR is a voluntary programme developed with representatives from different stakeholders including producers, consumers, governments, NGO's and other organizations, such as universities and research institutions in Brazil. In achieving PEFC endorsement, the CERFLOR system, supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) and the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), has demonstrated that it equals or surpasses all of the PEFC International Sustainability Benchmarks.

More than 3.4 million hectares of forests in China are expected to become certified under the Chinese national forest certification system, CFCC (China Forest Certification Council), in 2011,
following an agreement between the Beijing Zhonglin Tianhe Forest Certification Center and the Yichun Forest Authority announced recently.

According to the agreement, the Yichun Forest Authority is committed to certify all fifteen forest management units under its oversight, totalling an area of 2.67 million hectares in 2011. In 2010, already more than 700.000 hectares of forests underwent CFCC certification pre-assessments and audits in Northern and Southern China.

China currently has the highest afforestation rate of any country or region in the world, increasing its forest cover from 12% twenty years ago to more than 20% in 2010. With more than 200 million hectares of forest, China is one of the most forested countries globally, and is continuing to implement policy measures to increase the quality and quantity of its forests.

The agreement was presented at a recent press conference in Beijing with participation of Mr. Zhang Yongli, Deputy Minister of the State Forestry Administration (SFA), Mr. Wang Aiwen, Mayor of the City of Yichun, Mr. Wang Wei, General Secretary of CFCC, and Mr. Benson Yu, Director of the PEFC China Initiative.

The agreement follows the expression of intention by the CFCC at the PEFC General Assembly in November 2010 that it expects to apply for PEFC membership in 2011 and submit the scheme for endorsement, a move that was very much welcomed by PEFC and its members.