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Indonesian Forests to Benefit from PEFC Certification

APRIL Group welcomes the news that the Indonesian Forest Certification Cooperation (IFCC) has received endorsement from the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the world’s leading forest certification system.

APRIL welcomes endorsement of IFCC by PEFC

In an announcement last week, the PEFC noted that Indonesian forests ‘will now benefit from credible, globally recognized sustainable forest management certification.

“We wish to congratulate the IFCC and the PEFC on what is a significant milestone for the forestry sector in Indonesia,” said Praveen Singhavi, APRIL President.

In the announcement, Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC International added that the endorsement was a “turning point for Indonesia’ as certification represented an important mechanism “to verify and promote sustainable forest management, thus safeguarding the environmental, social and economic benefits that forests provide.”

“This is especially important in a country like Indonesia given the significance of its forest resources both in terms of protecting its invaluable biodiversity and its contribution to the livelihoods of the millions of people that depend on forest resources to make a living,” he added.

Gunneberg further commented: “PEFC forest certification enables people to choose good wood, wood that comes from forests that have been independently verified as sustainably managed. We encourage companies and consumers alike to opt for PEFC-certified products to support forest owners in Indonesia that manage their forests sustainably.”

Dradjad H Wibowo, Chairman of the IFCC, said: “Finding the right balance that protects forests and the people who depend on them is critical to achieving long term sustainability. We have benefitted from the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders in the development of our national forest certification system towards this ambitious goal, and the endorsement by PEFC confirms that we are in alignment with globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks.”

Endorsement means that Indonesian forest owners and companies are now able to demonstrate good practices through certification, allowing buyers globally to reward those who are committed to operating sustainably.

According to the PEFC, the endorsement followed the most rigorous assessment process existing globally for national forest certification systems seeking international recognition.

This process requires that standards be developed through a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder, consensus-based process at national level in line with PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmarks. The entire assessment process is then made publicly available to ensure full transparency of the process.