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| The first ever African national standard, the Pan African Forest Certification System PAFC Gabon, has been submitted to the PEFC Council for international endorsement. Before the first Okoume timber logs, one of Gabon?s most important tropical timber species, can be sold with the PEFC label, independent consultants will assess the Gabonese system against PEFC?s benchmark requirements. Part of the assessment is a public consultation period, during which all interested individuals and organisations can comment on the PAFC Gabon system.
Mrs Rose Ondo, President of PAFC Gabon said: "Gabon has more than 10 million hectares of commercial forests offering a wide range of African tropical hardwoods. We are confident that with a PEFC endorsement we will be able to meet the existing and fast growing demand for certified tropical timbers."
In addition, the first ever PEFC Chain of Custody certification in Africa was awarded only recently to the timber processing company Medidis in Morocco, underlining the growing importance of forest certification in Africa.
"The public consultation on the Gabonese system starts today and its complete documentation is available at our website www.pefc.org", said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council. "I invite everyone to send comments directly to the assessor FORM International, by 19 February 2007."
For more information please contact:
Consultants
FORM International
Mr Paul H.V. Hol
Ridderstraat 2
8051 EH Hattem
The Netherlands
Tel + 31 38 444 89 90
Fax + 31 38 444 89 91
E-mail: info@forminternational.nl
http://www.forminternational.nl
Applicant
PAFC Gabon
Mrs Carole Onouviet
Ing?nieur Am?nagiste - IFK
Industrielle et Foresti?re
du Komo, BP 2594 - Libreville
Gabon
Tel. +241 76 88 44
Fax +241 76 88 43
Email: onouviet.carole@gmail.com
PEFC Council
Mr Oliver Scholz
17, rue des Girondins
L-1626 Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Tel +352 26 25 90 59
Fax +352 26 25 92 58
Email: comms@pefc.org
http://www.pefc.org
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Editor Notes
Forest Certification
Forest certification is a process, which provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that the wood used in the products comes from sustainably managed forests. Sustainably managed forests are those whose management implements performance standards based on internationally agreed environmental, social and economical requirements.
PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)
PEFC is a framework for the mutual recognition of credible national or regional forest certification schemes that have been developed based on internationally recognised requirements for sustainable forest management. Since its launch in 1999, PEFC has become the largest forest certification umbrella organisation covering national schemes from all over the world, delivering hundreds of millions of tonnes of wood to the processing industry and then onto the market place from over 193 million hectares of certified forests. PEFC has strong grass roots support from many stakeholders including the forestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.
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