PEFC confirms its wish to join the partnership in order to consolidate its increasing determination around the world for rural development, sustainable forest management and certification.

Formally subject to Canadian PFBC Facilitation, PEFC adherence letter describes its commitment in favour of sustainable management principles and especially its adherence to the cooperation framework of PFBC members. Mr Ben Gunneberg (PEFC Secretary General) referred to the success of his organisation in forestry certification around the world to express his commitment to explore new avenues aiming at supporting and promoting rural development, sustainable management and certification in the Congo Basin region.

To close its adherence letter, M. Ben Gunneberg quotes Bill Street, the Chairman of the PEFC Board who gave an impassioned speech at our 13^th General Assembly in 2009: “The effects of globalization on the global south are unfair, unjust, and harsh enough. We must not add to the problem by denying those who practice sustainable forest management access to markets and a proper premium for their extra effort. We need to be a force for fair trade and that means national determined, culturally sensitive; ecosystem specific, simple and understandable processes available to all. This is especially true for family and community forestry. We are the global experts in family forestry. We must extend our knowledge and assistance to tropical forest families and help them achieve what we have accomplished. If a decade from now we have not found a way to use forest certification to assist forest dependent populations in African countries to exceed the UN’s MDGs, even if we succeed everywhere else, we will have failed. It is time for us to stop following the market and start to lead it.”

With this constraint in mind, PEFC express its interest and commitment to become an active PFBC member.

The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) through independent third-party certification.

For further information concerning PEFC, please visit the official website

Welcome to our new member!