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| PEFC (the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is pleased to announce the start of the public consultation period for the assessment of CertforChile, the Chilean national forest certification scheme. ?This is the first non-European scheme to be assessed? said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC, which has to date successfully assessed and endorsed 13 independent national forest certification schemes covering some 52 million hectares of certified forests, delivering millions of tonnes of certified wood based products from sustainably managed forests to the market place.
Chile's annual timber production is 25 Million cubic meters of logs per year and exports represent some 2,600 Million USD per annum (equivalent to 4% of Chilean GDP), making timber the second largest export sector after mining.
"Exports are key for Chile" said Mr Aldo Cerda, Executive Director of CertforChile, "so its only natural that we would want our national certification scheme to be recognized internationally as providing the assurances that the wood based products come from sustainably managed forest. Endorsement will also allow Chilean certified forest products to have access to the PEFC logo. The PEFC umbrella, as the world's largest mutual recognition umbrella, provides the mechanism for independent assessment against its 195 requirements for credible forest certification schemes and we urge all interested stakeholder around the world to participate in the public consultation process which forms an essential part of the rigorous assessment process.
Mr Gunneberg added "The independent consultant appointed, after a competitive tending process, is Indufor Oy, and interested people or organizations are encourage to view the Chilean scheme on our website www.pefc.org and send comments direct to the consultants by 21st April 2004.
Consultants Details:
Indufor Oy etc
T??l?nkatu 11A
FIN-00100 Helsinki
Finland
Email: indufor@indufor.fi
For more information contact:
Mr. Aldo Cerda, CertforChile - Tel +562 240 055
Mr. Ben Gunneberg, PEFC Council - Tel +352 26 25 90 5
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Editor Notes
Editors 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 forest. Sustainably managed forest are those whose management implements performance standards based on internationally agreed environmental, social and economical requirements.
Chile and CERFOR
Forest Area: 15.6 million hectares of which 86% are natural forests and 14% plantations
Production: 25 Million m3 per annum of which 92% come from plantations
Importance: Second largest export sector worth 2,600 Million USD representing 4%GDP
The CERTFOR scheme started its development 4 years ago and will comprise two standards, one for plantations and one for natural forests. The latter is expected to be operational by 2005. To date just under 1 Million hectares are certified to the CERTFOR scheme and this is expected to double by the end of 2004. It is expected that over half the exports will be covered by a certified CERTFOR chain of custody by 2005.
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 52 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.
For list of Certified Hectares see attached file or statistics available on our website: www.pefc.org
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