Public consultation: South African regional certification system
SAFAS has expanded its forest certification system to become a regional system for Southern Africa and has revised its national sustainable forest management standard.
Public consultation: South African regional certification system
3 June 2025 PEFC system news
Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the SAFAS Regional Scheme. Deadline for comments is 4 July. Give your feedback.
SAFAS has expanded its forest certification system to become a regional system for Southern Africa. By providing the policy framework and administrative support, the regional system will enable other Southern African countries to develop their national sustainable forest management standard and achieve PEFC endorsement by joining the regional system.
In addition, SAFAS has revised its national sustainable forest management standard to ensure its forest management standard is up-to-date and continues to meet stakeholder demands and expectations.
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The assessment process
After developing the new regional system and revising the national South African forest management standard in line with PEFC requirements, SAFAS submitted the full system to PEFC for endorsement.
The regional system 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 system. The Registered Assessor will use the information received from this consultation in their assessment of the system.
Need more information?
To provide you with additional information about this revised system, we held a webinar on 5 May at 14:00 CEST. Watch the webinar recording:
PEFC in South Africa
The South African Forestry Assurance Scheme (SAFAS) joined the PEFC alliance in May 2017, and its national forest certification system was endorsed in 2018. There are currently around 680,000 hectares of PEFC-certified forest area in the country.
Maintaining endorsements
For a national system to maintain its endorsement, it must meet a series of endorsement milestones. These milestones are linked to the national periodic review of the system and the sustainable forest management standard.
National systems go through a periodic review five years after their national approval (first endorsement milestone). The periodic review includes a gap analysis, public consultation and consideration of feedback received while the standard is in force.
National approval of the South African forest certification standard: 20 February 2025
Find out more about PEFC ensures national standards continue to meet expectations.