The 4th PEFC Group Certification Field Dialogue
The 4th PEFC Group Certification Field Dialogue
Event
PEFC Asia-Pacific, PEFC France and PEFC Auvergne Rhône Alpes (AURA) invited interested individuals to the 4th PEFC Group Certification Field Dialogue to Ferrand Clemont, Puy-de-Dome, France.
The Field Dialogue took place on 17-18 May, right after the PEFC Forest Forum 2024 in Paris.
The details
In a small group, participants engaged in theory sessions and site visits, gaining valuable insights into smallholder group certification in France.
Forest owners and managers shared their experiences, discussed the unique conditions of local aforests, and highlighted the impact of PEFC certification on sustainable forest management.
Besides learning first-hand how group certification is designed and managed in France, we also discussed its possible implementation in different countries around the world.
Group certification is a key solution for small forest owners to join forces and achieve PEFC certification together. Under the PEFC umbrella, there are success stories of group certification from around the world.
PEFC France is one of them: 3,925 members work together under the group certified entity PEFC AURA, managing 559,121 ha of PEFC-certified forest.
This field dialogue is part of the series which brings together global experts to expand group certification at local level.
The agenda
On Friday, we heard about forest certification in France, using PEFC AURA as an example for large-scale smallholder certification. During the afternoon in the forest, where we learnt about forest production systems and PEFC chain of custody certification.
On Saturday, we visited two sites where we discovered reforestation efforts and silviculture and mix-species forest management, and shared action plans for improving group certification at national level.