Republic of Korea becomes the latest PEFC member

“We are very happy and proud to officially become part of the PEFC family,” said Hyemi Lee, from the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute (KoFPI), following the acceptance of Republic of Korea as a PEFC National member.

“We faced many difficulties during the development of our Korea Forest Certification Scheme, therefore the help and support we received for the whole PEFC alliance has been invaluable.”

“As well as the vital information from PEFC International, we also received help from other PEFC National members, in particular from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan and Malaysia, to name a few,” Ms. Lee continued.

“We appreciate the opportunity to support Korea in the development of their national forest certification system,” said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International CEO. “One of the great strengths of PEFC is the high level of adaptability of national standards to local conditions.”

“PEFC members around the world have accumulated a wealth of experience working with people on the ground to establish sustainable forest management requirements responding to their needs while responding to international expectations, and we’re looking forward to sharing knowledge with KoFPI,” Mr. Gunneberg continued.

The move towards PEFC
“While forest certification has been present in Republic of Korea for the last few years, the current models are not well suited to our national conditions,” continued Ms. Lee, explaining the motivation to develop a national forest certification system in line with PEFC’s international requirements.

“As voices urging the implementation of their own certification system, which reflects the distinct characteristics of Korean forests, grew among stakeholders, the Korea Forest Certification Council (KFCC) was established,” Ms. Lee explained.

The KFCC has since conducted various activities such as the development of national standards and pilot tests. Applying and becoming a PEFC member was an important step towards the submission of the national system to PEFC.

“Furthermore, we are going to apply for PEFC endorsement within this year,” Ms. Lee concluded. “We believe that through PEFC endorsement we can promote and spread sustainable forest management throughout Korea.”

Republic of Korea becomes the latest country in Asia to join the PEFC alliance, highlighting our continued growth in this region.
http://pefc.org/news-a-media/general-sfm-news/2140-republic-of-korea-becomes-the-latest-pefc-member

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