Public Consultation: Indian Trees outside Forests certification standard

28 September 2021 PEFC system news

Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on NCCF’s Trees outside Forests Certification Standard. Deadline for comments is 25 November 2021.

This is the first time Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF), the PEFC national member for India, has applied for PEFC endorsement of its national Trees outside Forests (TOF) certification standard. TOF certification was one of the innovative developments of the 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard.

After developing the national standard in line with PEFC requirements, NCCF submitted it to PEFC for endorsement. The standard is now undergoing the PEFC assessment process, carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this process and be approved by the PEFC General Assembly before it can achieve endorsement.

An important aspect of the assessment process is the public consultation. Over the sixty-day consultation, stakeholders from around the world can give their comments and provide feedback on any aspect of the standard. The Registered Assessor will use the information received from this consultation in their assessment of the standard.

Need more information?

To provide you with additional information about this new TOF standard, we held a webinar on 27 September at 10:00 CEST. Watch the recording:

PEFC in India

NCCF joined the PEFC alliance in 2015, and achieved PEFC endorsement of the country’s national forest certification system in 2019. Within a year of endorsement, there was already PEFC-certified forest area in India, reaching 450,000 hectares by June 2020. 

With a significant percentage of India’s trees found outside forests, the development of their TOF certification standard was a vital step for the country.

Trees outside Forests

Following the approval of the 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forests Management standard, it’s now possible for national forest certification systems to develop national standards for the certification of trees outside forests. NCCF’s TOF certification standard is one of the first to be submitted to PEFC for endorsement.

With the ability to certify trees outside forests, we are opening up PEFC certification to the millions of farmers and smallholders that do not own or manage forests, but rather trees on agricultural or settlement land that are currently outside the scope of certification.