Striving to Improve Smallholder Access to Certification

At the heart of PEFC is our ambition to enable smallholders to access forest certification, independent of region and socioeconomic condition. But there is more than can be done.

This was highlighted last week at the first meeting of Standards Revision Working Group 2, responsible for the revision of PEFC’s Group Certification Standard and the development of a set of requirements for certification bodies operating audits in forest management.

The importance of strengthening the management system approach and of clearly describing the interaction between group members and group management was emphasized by representatives from the accreditation community. While the current standard already responds to these issues, their further development will support the use and expand the application of the standard.

Other important areas of discussion included internal audit procedures on how sampling is applied. In this context, technologies such as remote sensing can contribute to further enhancing the transparency and credibility of certification of large groups.

“This revised standard will enable us to improve the support we provide to small- and family forest owners around the world, ensuring we continue to be the certification system of choice for smallholders,” said Michael Berger, Head of Technical Unit at PEFC International, following the conclusion of the working group meeting.

read more/source: http://www.pefc.org/news-a-media/general-sfm-news/2113-striving-to-improve-smallholder-access-to-certification

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