Forest Certification Scheme Grows in Europe
11/9/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Industry Forest CERTIFICATION Scheme Grows
Source: Environment News Service
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 9, 1999
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, November 9, 1999 (ENS) - Finland and Sweden
may become the first countries to have their privately owned forests
certified as sustainably managed under a new industry-inspired scheme
launched earlier this year.
Both countries handed in national certification schemes for
endorsement by the Pan-European Forestry Certification Scheme (PEFC)
at its general assembly in Prague last week.
Associations from Denmark, Latvia, and Slovakia also signed up as
members, bringing the total number of countries participating to 15.
Much of the meeting was taken up with drafting details of "chain of
custody" clauses to ensure that timber carries on being managed in a
sustainable way throughout processing until it arrives at the point
of sale.
Launched in June, the PEFC aims to help customers identify products
from sustainably managed forests through a certification process
subject to independent party auditing. Such products will carry a
logo, expected to become recognized throughout Europe, and facilitate
the international trade of certified products.
Participating countries will be able to develop their own national
certification systems, while adhering to the Pan-European criteria.
Six major criteria must be met, based upon the framework developed at
the Helsinki (1993) and Lisbon (1998) Ministerial Conferences on the
Protection of Forests in Europe.
Certification criteria include:
* Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of forest resources and
their contribution to global carbon cycles.
* Maintenance of forest ecosystem health and vitality.
* Maintenance and encouragement of productive functions of forests.
* Maintenance, conservation and appropriate enhancement of biological
diversity.
* Maintenance and appropriate enhancement of protective functions of
forest management - notably soil and water.
* Maintenance of other socio-economic functions and conditions.
Work will continue in February at the next PEFC summit in Luxembourg,
where the organization hopes to establish a permanent secretariat.
PEFC must still appoint board members representing non-governmental
organizations, retailers, and labor unions. These groups have
traditionally been strong in their support for the rival, global
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) scheme originated by the World Wide
Fund for Nature. But PEFC says it is "not in a hurry" since these
bodies are already involved in drafting national standards.
The FSC meanwhile, has taken a further step forward by approving the
UK Woodland Assurance Scheme, launched in June, as an equivalent
standard. This will enable products certified by the Woodland
Assurance Scheme to bear the FSC logo, as long as an FSC-accredited
verification company has audited them.