CSA launches the revision of its PEFC-endorsed sustainable forest management standard

23 April 2014 PEFC system news

Canada's National Standard on Sustainable Forest Management, CAN/CSA-Z809, will undergo revision starting May 2014. The revision is led by the CSA Technical Committee on Sustainable Forest Management which develops and maintains the standard in an inclusive, balanced and consensus-based process.

The Technical Committee is seeking feedback on the current CAN/CSA-Z809-08 (R2013) standard to assist with the revision process. If you are interested please complete the following survey at CAN/CSA Z809 Survey. The survey closes May 1, 2014.

First published in 1996, CAN/CSA-Z809 is Canada's National Standard for Sustainable Forest Management and sets environmental and social requirements that fit the unique public ownership structure of Canadian forests.

CAN/CSA-Z809 was developed according to the internationally recognized Montreal and Helsinki processes and has been approved as a National Standard of Canada by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). It incorporates Canada's own national Sustainable Forest Management criteria developed by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, as well as locally-adapted indicators developed through public consultation. The standard links adaptive forest management to forest certification through performance, public participation and system requirements.

The CAN/CSA-Z809 standard is endorsed by the world's largest forest certification organization, the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). The standard was initially endorsed in 2005, and re-endorsed in 2011 until 2016.

The revision of standards is a required element of the PEFC endorsement, which obliges national forest management standards to be revised regularly to ensure that they incorporate international requirements, latest knowledge and best practices, and new market and stakeholder requirements.