PEFC International, the world's largest forest certification scheme, is calling on all stakeholders to nominate candidates for a working group dedicated to the revision of PEFC requirements for the sustainable management of tropical natural forests.
Over the past two years, the PEFC Revision Working Group has revised PEFC’s requirements sustainable forest management, standard setting, and group certification, which were approved in November 2010.
The remaining task of the Revision Working Group is to develop an interpretative Appendix for the application of the new PEFC standard for sustainable forest management in tropical natural forests. This includes issues such as the recognition of free, prior and informed consent, the respect for property and land tenure rights as well as customary and traditional rights, prohibition of forest conversions and genetically modified trees, and the protection of ecologically important forest areas.
In order to better address this remaining task, the current WG will be recomposed to include individuals and organisations with interest and expertise in tropical natural forests and trade with products of those forests.
PEFC members and external parties are eligible to nominate candidates for the working group for the following five stakeholder categories:
- Forest owners/managers
- Forest based industry
- Consumers and customers
- Civil society
- PEFC members
Participation is aimed to include representatives from the CSD Major Groups, which include Business & Industry, Children & Youth, Farmers, Indigenous Peoples, Local Authorities, NGOs, Scientific & Technological Community, Women, and Workers & Trade Unions.
The revision process will be complemented by open dialogues, expert workshops, and public consultations at various stages of the revision process and anticipated to result in the submission of a revised PEFC requirements for tropical natural forests to the PEFC General Assembly in November 2011 in Montreux, Switzerland.
Terms and References
The working group:
- is governed by PEFC GD 1003:2009,
- has 25 seats equally distributed amongst the stakeholder categories (see above), decisions of the working group are following principles of consensus,
- is anticipated to meet three times in 2011, in early February 2011, end of May 2011 and in Autumn (September-October 2011), in Geneva, Switzerland. Telephone conference facilities will be provided, though direct participation is strongly encouraged.
- participation is voluntary, the members are responsible for covering their own costs (reimbursement of the travel costs may be provided in exceptional circumstances)
Please submit nominations by 31 December 2010.
Further Information
Nominations Form (all fields are required)
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