Spanish PEFC System Development Toolkit launched in Mexico

23 September 2014 News

“Drawing on PEFC’s 15 years of experience in leading standard setting processes and running forest certification systems across 37 countries, this Toolkit brings together the collective knowledge of PEFC members and presents it in a format to inspire and guide other organizations embarking on the process around the world,” said Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of PEFC International,as he launched the Spanish language version of PEFC’s popular Developing Systems Toolkit.

“Desarrollando un Sistema Nacional de Certificación Forestal: Tu Guía” (or ‘Your Toolkit: Developing a National Forest Certification System’) was launched on the second day of the FAO and National Forestry Commission organized Seminar on Sustainable Forest Management: International Experiences and Perspectives for Mexico.

Held between 22 and 25 September in Mexico City, the Seminar aims at building capacity in Mexico to sustainably increase productivity of the forest sector through sustainable forest management.With participants including forest producer organizations, industrial and professionals, academics and researchers and civil society, the seminar provides stakeholder from around the country with the opportunity to learn about and discuss the current situation and international trends of forestry sector. It is also anticipated that this International Seminar will provide information and suggestions for further development of the Mexican forestry sector.

The Toolkit

Designed to address the needs of organizations currently leading standard setting processes, the Toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to developing a national forest certification system aligned with PEFC’s globally recognized sustainability benchmark requirements. It gives hands-on advice for practitioners, summarizes complex requirements with innovative graphics and captures recommendations from PEFC and its existing members who have completed the same process.

For what can often be a lengthy process, the toolkit provides a roadmap to ensure people don’t lose sight of where they are at and differentiates 5 key phases of the process: Your organization, Developing your System, PEFC Council membership, PEFC Endorsement and Running your System.

“For PEFC International, having the Toolkit now available in Spanish will enable us to better deliver technical guidance to even more organizations around the world. If we can support the successful establishment of national certification systems in more countries, we can expand forest certification and bring more of the world’s forests under sustainable forest management,” concluded Mr. Gunneberg.

If you’re interested to join PEFC’s community of learning around standard setting or to keep informed about PEFC’s expanding support service and related workshops and events, please contact development@pefc.org.