Trees and the forest are a passion

14 October 2022 International Day of Rural Women

For International Day of Rural Women on 15 October, we celebrate women for their tireless work in the forest and in forestry. Rather than speaking about those women, we will give the word to them.

Joana dos Guimarães Sá works in the certification of forest sector organizations at APCER. She shared with us what sparked her interest in forestry, and how PEFC certification has changed her work and her sector.

What does the forest mean to you, both personally and professionally?

The forest is part of my daily work at APCER, although my work in the certification of forest sector organizations and the transformation of forest-based products does not take me to the forest as often as I would like. For me, and I believe for most of my colleagues in the profession, trees and the forest are a passion. Currently, in the context of climate change, the importance of forests is growing worldwide.

Why did you choose to work in the forestry sector?

I have always wanted to work with nature. In my childhood and youth, I lived with friends and friends of my parents who were foresters. They often took us for walks in the forest and shared many stories of their work.

During the month of August, I played a lot in Mata do Camarido, in Northern Portugal. You could say that it was during my summer vacation that my interest in the forest was born. At the age of fifteen I had already decided on my profession, and later at university I chose the forest engineering course as my first option.

What role does your work play for the development of the bio economy and sustainability?

My work is within the scope of certification of sustainable forest management and forest-based products, namely PEFC certification. I have followed PEFC forest management certification in Portugal since the beginning and my perception is that it has had a very strong impact on forest management at a social, environmental and economic level.

PEFC certification is a positive and effective mechanism to induce changes in management practices and obtain results.

What is the impact of PEFC certification on your work?

As far as the forestry sector is concerned, at APCER and in Portugal it all started with the PEFC. About twenty years ago we were almost exclusively a management systems certification body.

When we were invited to participate in the regulatory process, I was naturally interested to do so because I was the only forestry engineer working at APCER at that time.

At first no one took the subject very seriously, they joked about me. The first PEFC certification in Portugal was in 2006, and since then we have not stopped.

Today we have a business unit dedicated exclusively to the forestry sector and the transformation of forest-based products, five engineers and a forestry engineer on staff, operations in Brazil, Portugal and Spain. I believe that this shows the growing relevance of forests at a global level and the importance of certification in the sector.