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| Family forest owners in the United States, who own nearly two-thirds of the country's forest lands, today cheered the endorsement of the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC). This step that will open the door to new green markets for wood that is sustainably produced on their land.
PEFC made the announcement after a 14-month rigorous review designed to provide assurance to purchasers that certified wood and paper products are in fact produced from sustainably managed forests.
"This is fantastic news for conservation-minded family forest owners who are struggling to survive in tough economic times," said Laurence Wiseman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Forest Foundation, the parent group of ATFS. "PEFC approval is the key to connecting more of the good operators to the rapidly growing marketplace of green manufacturers, distributors, retailers and consumers."
Forest owners who voluntarily commit the extra time and expense to produce wood sustainably under the ATFS system will now qualify for access to international markets they never had before.
Although many people mistakenly assume that forest land they see is owned by either the government or large paper companies, in fact 60 percent of all the wood harvested in the US comes from family forest lands. Many communities depend on private forests to provide benefits including water purification, clean air, recreation, wildlife habitat and education.
"By joining the largest forest certification system in the world, the American Tree Farm System is creating new markets for American growers," said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC International. "The demand for sustainably-procured wood is rapidly increasing because more businesses and more consumers are stepping up to the plate on issues like climate change. PEFC endorsement means that more American growers can now serve this rapidly growing market."
The American Tree Farm System was first launched in 1941 as a private initiative to address concerns that America?s forests were being cut at unsustainable rates without reforestation. It now represents more than 90,000 family forest owners in 45 states, most of whom manage woodlots of less than 100 acres. ATFS is the largest private forest conservation and forest restoration initiative in the history of the US.
Contact:
Bob Simpson
American Forest Foundation
Email: bsimpson@forestfoundation.org
Tel: +1 (202) 463 2458
www.treefarmsystem.org
Thorsten Arndt
PEFC International
Email: info@pefc.org
Tel: +41 (22) 799 4540
www.pefc.org
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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.
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