Public consultation prior to decision on PEFC Belgium re-endorsement

"Everyone can have their say on the revised Belgian forest certification system before PEFC decides whether or not to grant it PEFC re-endorsement", said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council. "Interested organisations and individuals can review the system's requirements at www.pefc.org and send comments directly to the external assessor by 4 October 2007."

Nearly half of all forests in Belgium have been certified under the national system during the five years since its first recognition by the PEFC Council. During this time its use by responsible companies and institutions has increased constantly and today the system is among those recommended by the Belgian government to private and public purchasers of paper and timber products.

For more information contact:
Assessor
FORM International
Paul H.V. Hol
Bevrijdingsweg 3
NL-8051 EN Hattem
The Netherlands
Tel: + 31 38 444 89 90
Fax: + 31 38 444 89 91
Email: info@forminternational.nl
http://www.forminternational.nl

Applicant
PEFC Belgium
Ms Vanessa Biebel
Galerie du Centre, Bloc 2
B-1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
Tel. +32 2 223 4421
Fax +32 2 223 4275
Email: v.biebel@pefc.be
http://www.pefc.be

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

Editor Notes

PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes)
PEFC is a framework for the assessment and endorsement of national forest certification systems 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 systems from all over the world, delivering hundreds of millions of tonnes of wood to the processing industry and then onto the market place from currently more than 200 million hectares of certified forests. This is an area which is larger than the combined forest area of all European Union member states. PEFC has strong grass roots support from many stakeholders including the forestry sector, governments, trade associations, trade unions and non-governmental organisations.

Forest Certification
Forest certification is a process which provides an assurance to purchasers of wood and paper products that the wood used in the products comes from sustainably managed forest. It involves the certification of forests (Sustainable Forest Management certification) and the certification of the wood flow via processing, manufacturing and trading enterprises (Chain of Custody certification) to the final consumer.