Myanmar takes big steps towards PEFC membership

8 May 2019 News

“I am delighted to announce that the PEFC International Board is recommending the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee for PEFC membership,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, during his visit in Myanmar last week.

Following the recommendation, the PEFC General Assembly is now voting on Myanmar’s application for membership. We will announce the result of the vote in early June. 

While in Myanmar, Ben attended a seminar in Yangon, hosted by PEFC and the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC), our prospective national member for the country. Our collaboration on current and future projects was a key focus of the seminar, as we seek to develop our partnership with MFCC in order to bring sustainable management to Myanmar’s forests.

“We look forward to welcoming MFCC into the PEFC family and to advancing sustainable forest management with you in Myanmar,” said Ben, speaking at the seminar.

“Until now, there has been little international awareness of what stakeholders in Myanmar have been doing to bring timber legality and sustainable forest management to the country,” said Baber Cho, Secretary of MFCC.

“We hope to change this, as we build on the achieved progress and continue to strengthen the Myanmar Timber Legality Assurance System (MTLAS)”.

Promising collaboration between PEFC and MFCC 

We are collaborating with MFCC in a three-year project to support Myanmar as it transitions to the sustainable management of its forests. The project is co-funded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

MFCC is leading the process, convening stakeholders to build consensus on sustainable forest management requirements and finalize standards that will contribute to sustainable forest management within the country.

Thanks to the joint project, MFCC was able to establish a multi-stakeholder platform to facilitate better coordination and exchange and share experiences amongst forest sector actors.

Sustainable forest management is of special importance for Myanmar, as 70% of the population are heavily dependent on forests for their basic needs and many are dependent on the forest sector for employment.