European Forest Industry Creates Certification Scheme
7/2/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: European Forest Industry Creates Certification Scheme
Source: Environmental News Service
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: July 2, 1999
PARIS, France, July 2, 1999 (ENS) - European forest industry
organisations have formally launched a certification scheme for
sustainably produced timber which is expected to compete with the
global, environmental NGO-backed Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Meeting in Paris yesterday, representatives of 12 national bodies
participating in the Pan-European Forest Certification Scheme (PEFC),
signed the new body's statutes.
In a statement, the group said it expected over 10 million hectares
(24.7 million acres) of woodlands to be certified under the scheme by
early 2000, possibly rising to double this figure by next summer.
The PEFC's development originated with small forest owners in Finland
and some other European countries who opposed the FSC certification
scheme, which was inspired by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Organisations from 17 European countries are now participating in the
PEFC, and organisers say that expressions of interest have been
received from forest industry organisations in Australia, Canada, the
USA and Brazil.
The scheme provides a framework for mutual recognition of national
forest certification schemes. Key to its design, according to PEFC
general secretary Ben Gunneberg, is that the scheme is based on
certification of woodland owners by independent auditors who must be
accredited by national accreditation agencies.
Gunneberg strongly played down any implication that the PEFC and FSC
would necessarily become rivals, though both now have their own
labels for sustainably managed woodland products. The degree of
dialogue between different stakeholders had grown enormously, he
said, while the PEFC explicitly allowed for participation by all
stakeholders, including environmental groups, retailers and others,
as well as forest owners and forest industries.
Twelve countries have now established national PEFC governing bodies:
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Finland, Ireland, Norway,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
According to organisers, the initiative now has the support of
associations representing about 12 million woodland owners in Europe,
who manage 100 million hectares of woodlands and cut 280 million
cubic metres of timber annually.