Public Consultation: Regional forest certification system for the Balkans

5 August 2021 PEFC system news

Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the regional forest certification system for the Balkans. Deadline for comments is 2 October. Give your feedback now!

Our national members for Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Slovenia developed a harmonized framework for their national forest management standards to create this regional system for the Western Balkans. 

By developing a regional system, it enables our members to maximise their impact and reach, share resources and knowledge, and reduce the costs in developing and running a forest certification system.

The 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 regional system, we held a webinar on 4 August, at 10:00 CET. Watch the recording:

PEFC in the Balkans

We have been actively supporting projects within the Balkans since the first Collaboration Fund back in 2011. Recently, we have supported a regional approach to increase forest certification in the region.

The PEFC Balkan Forest Certification Scheme covers three national members: Association of Private Forest Owners “Naša Šuma” (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Council for Sustainable Forest Management in the Republic of Macedonia, and the Institute for Forest Certification (Slovenia).

Slovenia has been a PEFC member since 2005, with its national system achieving endorsement in 2007 and 2014. North Macedonia joined in 2016 and their national system was endorsed in 2018. Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of our newest members, joining in 2020.

The new regional system will substitute the national systems from Slovenia and North Macedonia, while it will be the first for Bosnia and Herzegovina.