PEFC seeks public’s view on Chilean CERTFOR certification system

CertforChile has applied for PEFC re-endorsement of its CertforChile Forest Certification Scheme. The scheme's conformity with the PEFC requirements is currently being assessed by an independent assessor.

Part of this assessment is an international consultation period giving all organisations and individuals the opportunity to comment on the scheme. The public consultation period starts today and comments can be sent directly to the assessor until the 22 August 2008.

"Everyone is invited to contribute to the assessment of the revised CertforChile Forest Certification Scheme before PEFC decides whether or not to grant PEFC re-endorsement" said Mr Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of the PEFC Council.

"The regular 5-year revision of the national schemes guarantees the equally high and consistent quality level of all PEFC endorsed systems. At the same time each application for re-endorsement shows the commitment of the stakeholders at national level to continuously improve the delivery of sustainable forest management", he added.

Access documentation about the Chilean CERTFOR certification system.

ASSESSOR
INDUFOR OY
Ms Hanna Nikinmaa
Toolonkatu 11 A
FIN-00100 Helsinki
Finland
Tel +358 684 0110
Fax. +358 9 135 2552
Email: hann.nikinmaa@indufor.fi
http://www.indufor.fi


APPLICANT
CertforChile
Mr Aldo Cerda
P. Antonio Rabat Sur 6165
Vitacura
Santiago - CHILE
Phone: +562 240 0328
Fax: +562 241 9385
E-mail: acerda@fundacionchile.cl
www.certfor.org

PEFC Council
Jaroslav Tymrak
World Trade Centre 1
10 route de L'Aéroport
CH-1215 Genève
Switzerland
www.pefc.org
info@pefc.org
Tel: +41 (0)22 799 45 40
Fax: +41 (0)22 799 45 50

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.