Estonian certification system open for public consultation

15 May 2014 PEFC system news

The Estonian Forest Certification Scheme is now open for global public consultation, with the national forest certification system seeking PEFC re-endorsement for the first time. Stakeholders globally are invited to provide feedback on its compliance with PEFC International's Sustainability Benchmarks by 12 July 2014.

Estonia is one of the most heavily forested countries in Europe with forests covering over 50% of the country’s land area. In recent months the area of PEFC-certified forests saw a significant increase, with it more than doubling to over 1.8 million hectares. Thanks to this, over 83% of forests in Estonia are now PEFC-certified.

Over half of the certified area is made up of small family- and community-owned forests who have achieved certification through PEFC’s Group Certification. PEFC created Group Certification to enable small forest owners to achieve certification by sharing the financial and administrative costs that could otherwise restrict their access to certification.

With PEFC International limiting the validity of endorsements to five years, national systems must be revised in multi-stakeholder processes and apply for re-endorsement to continue benefitting from PEFC recognition.

As part of the endorsement process, PEFC seeks comments and feedback from all interested parties to ensure full compliance of the national system with PEFC's Sustainability Benchmark during a 60-day global public consultation.

“PEFC has arguably the most rigorous assessment process for national certification systems seeking recognition at international level,” said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General, “The consultation period is a vital part of the assessment process of all national systems that are seeking endorsement or re-endorsement by PEFC.”

All comments received during the global public consultation will provide valuable information for the third-party assessor in determining whether the revised Estonian Forest Certification Scheme is in compliance with international requirements.

Interested stakeholders are invited to use PEFC's Online Consultation Tool to provide comments on the Estonian Forest Certification Scheme by 12 July 2014.