Working towards boosting certification of tropical forests in Africa

Forest certification evolved from concerns about the destruction of tropical forests. Yet after more than two decades of combined efforts by PEFC and FSC, less than a tenth of the global certified forest area is tropical forest. It is time for a new boost for forest certification of tropical forests, and PEFC – together with a diverse coalition of stakeholders – is making great strides towards this goal.

The loss of tropical forests was high on the agenda of the 1992 Earth Summit, but governments failed to agree on a legally binding agreement on this topic. Yet it gave raise to something potentially more important: the insight that deforestation cannot be tackled in isolation, but needs to be part of a holistic, global effort to promote sustainable forest management (SFM).

As a result, the concept of “criteria and indicators for Sustainable Forest Management” became more widely accepted internationally, and eventually led to Pan-European criteria and indicators for SFM (MCPFE) and criteria for the sustainable management of tropical forests (ATO/ITTO).

Forest certification systems also trace their roots back to the 1992 Earth Summit and its concerns for tropical forests. However, certification took hold mainly in temperate forests, especially after PEFC was created. By 2005, six years after its foundation, PEFC was already the world’s largest forest certification system.

Temperate forests were located in regions where forest governance systems were well established, forest rights largely well defined, and where forest owners already benefitted from a long history of sustainable forest management. Importantly, forest owners were also well organised within an established network of forest sector organisations and networks.

PEFC, which quires a “bottom-up” approach in every country where it operates, builds on such structures. PEFC sustainable forest management requirements are developed by a multi-stakeholder process, which seeks for a consensus among all actors at national level, to address the particular framework conditions of the respective country.

PEFC’s bottom-up approach therefore always requires participation of affected and interested stakeholders at local level. In counties with less established governance structures, this is more difficult to put in place, but more successful and long-lasting than top-down approaches. Nowadays, about 75% of all certified forests are PEFC certified.

The first tropical country that achieved PEFC endorsement was Malaysia in 2009. Today, Brazil, Indonesia, French Guiana, Gabon and Cameroon all benefit from PEFC-endorsed national forest certification systems, with efforts underway in Ghana, Guyana, Myanmar and the Republic of Congo.

But more efforts are required to expand sustainable forest management of tropical forests, which is why Cameroon, Congo and Gabon have joined forces to form ‘PAFC Congo Basin’. The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic are hoped to join this collaboration as well. The shared language, the same forest type and similar forest legislation in the neighbouring countries, make this unprecedented development of a regional system feasible.

The future regional system would substitute the existing national systems, while expanding the availability of PEFC certification to all participating countries. Led by ATIBT and supported by Olam International, the project has received funding from PPECF (Programme de Promotion de l’Exploitation Certifiée des Forêts), a joint programme of KFW, the German

Development Bank, and COMIFAC, the Commission of Forestry Ministers of Central Africa.

The management of the system will be centralized and administered by a single regional coordinator, increasing the efficiency of the system’s implementation and facilitating external communication and outreach.

Crucially, the support of local stakeholders for this regional approach will enable PAFC Congo Basin to obtain widespread support and buy-in, giving forest certification of tropical forests in Africa a much needed boost. We invite all stakeholders to join this collaborative effort.
https://pefc.org/news/working-towards-boosting-certification-of-tropical-forests-in-africa

Related Posts

Two Sides North America Admonishes Communications Giant Verizon for Green Claim

Two Sides spends a lot of time batting down the baloney that often gets passed around under the guise of environmental sustainability. The latest major company to incur Two Sides’ wrath is Verizon, which may have run afoul of the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides for environmental marketing. In a customer communication, Verizon told customers to “Go Green with Paperless Billing and Auto Bill Pay.” Among the bulleted points in favor of paperless billing, Verizon lists “Green—Help save the environment, one paperless bill at a time.” That drew the ire of Two Sides.

“Invest in us for Sustainable Forests” say Community Forest Members, Indigenous Peoples and Smallholders from Asia

Local people from forest communities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam and came together in Bangkok recently to discuss forest issues that are priorities for them and to prepare for the upcoming XIV World Forestry Congress. The Congress, which is the largest and most significant gathering of the world's forestry sector, takes place in Durban, South Africa this September. “As one of the few observers here, and being responsible for supporting smallholder certification, it was great to hear about the issues and priorities for Asian communities,” reported Richard Laity, PEFC South East Asia, Projects and Development Officer. “We want to ensure that certification is inclusive by working closely with these forest communities, while we develop national forest certification systems.”

International Paper Publishes 2022 Sustainability Report

International Paper released its 2022 Sustainability Report, which illustrates the progress made on our Vision 2030 goals and outlines our commitment to building a better future for people, the planet and our company. From planet-friendly packaging to pulp for absorbent products, we transform renewable resources into products people depend on every day. As one of North America's largest recyclers, we deliver circular solutions that reduce waste and build a better future for our planet. International Paper recognizes its impacts and dependencies on natural and human capital, and its responsibility to promote the health of people and our planet because we know that's what's needed for a livable world and a thriving society.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search