Background

Forest certification is a voluntary, market driven approach to promote sustainable forest management.  While it is undeniably one of the most effective tools in safeguarding the world's most biodiverse terrestrial ecosystems, only eight percent of the world's forests are currently certified.

Mainstreaming forest certification is therefore on top of the sustainability agenda of many actors in the public, private and not for profit sectors.  Global – and local – forest stakeholders need to join forces to fully utilize the potential that forest certification – and sustainable forest management - have in tackling societal challenges such as climate change.

The Asia Pacific region is home to 14% of the world's forest, including some of the last remaining primary rain forests.  Yet, approximately 60% of the world's population live in the Asia Pacific region.  Population pressure, coupled with growing economies on the one hand and extreme poverty on the other, creates many challenges and opportunities – environmentally, socially, and economically – for the forests, which in themselves play an important role in many of the countries.

Forest certification promotes management of forests that is economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just.

At its best, forest certification protects forests, supports family- and community forestry and people who depend on forests for their livelihoods, abates illegal logging, and helps to mitigate carbon pollution.  The three pillars of sustainability, however, cannot be separated, compartmentalized or addressed individually.  They are a unified whole, and to say that by achieving one of these components we are one-third of the way towards sustainability is false.

Therefore, forest certification must set high standards that promote all three pillars of sustainability, yet these standards need to be adaptable to new circumstances.  They must reflect the national context and the specific ecological and environmental conditions, as well as social, economic, political, cultural and spiritual dimensions.

Objective

An international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management, PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system and the certification system of choice for small forest owners.

PEFC understands that sustainable forest management is an evolving process, and the parameters defining it change over time based on the latest scientific knowledge and society's understanding of the concept.

Over the past two years, the organization has been revising its forest management standard, its requirements for developing national certification standards, and requirements for group certification, a tool that is of specific importance for family- and community forests owners.  PEFC's benchmark applies globally, though it promotes local adaptation.

However, are the revised draft requirements appropriate for the Asia Pacific context?

The specific objectives of the Stakeholder Dialogue therefore are to provide an overview of the development of forest certification in the Asia Pacific region and to discuss the relevance and appropriateness of the draft revised international criteria at a regional and national level.

Who should participate?

Local, national and regional stakeholders working to improve forestry management. Participants will include representatives from

• Non-governmental and community-based organizations
• Forest managers and owners
• Forest-based industries
• Governmental and intergovernmental entities
• Certification initiatives
• Members of the Standards Revision Working Group
• Representatives of national certification systems

Further information

• Invitation & Agenda
• Enquiry drafts