PEFC Southeast Asia seeks partners to develop quality infrastructure in the forestry sector

Forest certification is a powerful tool to combat illegal logging and to promote sustainable forest management and responsible timber trade. PEFC is calling for collaborators and donors to further develop the PEFC FOR-TRADE programme to drive ASEAN integration and development of regional value chains in forest related industries.

The PEFC FOR-TRADE programme (Forestry and Trade for Development in the ASEAN region) supports sustainable forest trade in the Lower Mekong and ASEAN region through certification programmes aimed at advancing nationally owned standards in sustainable forest management and chain of custody.

PEFC Southeast Asia has collaborated with a range of partners in the region. More recently for example, we have been a key partner in a UN-REDD Initiative funded by NORAD, implementing a series of interventions to support Sustainable Forest Trade in the Lower Mekong Region. A key activity has been empowering Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam to trade with China by enhancing their national forest certification systems. Other interventions have included:
*Diverse certification pilot projects to showcase best practices for emerging countries to adopt.
*Quality Infrastructure training programs within the forestry sector to develop sustainable forestry related training products/materials.
*Intra-regional workshops to develop local and regional communities to engage and strengthen trade ties.
more at: https://pefc.org/news/pefc-southeast-asia-seeks-partners-to-develop-quality-infrastructure-in-the-forestry-sector

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