Sustainable Forest Management

This benchmark lays out the international requirements for sustainable forest management.

It is these requirements that must be reflected in the national forest management standards submitted for PEFC endorsement. They constitute requirements for owners or managers applying for forest certification, as well as contractors and other operators operating in certified forests.

The latest version of this standard was approved by the PEFC General Assembly on 14 November 2018.

The current status of the standard

A permanent working group has been created in order to provide guidance on the implementation and interpretation of the revised Sustainable Forest Management and Group Certification benchmarks. This includes the continued development of our newly adopted approach of certification for Trees outside Forests, such as urban trees or agro-forestry.

This working group will meet two times a year, mainly in Geneva, Switzerland, but occasionally at other locations.

What changed in the last revision?

Trees outside Forests in Thailand

For many stakeholders, especially small-forest owners, the most significant change was the inclusion of Trees outside Forests (TOF). This makes PEFC certification accessible to the millions of farmers and smallholders that do not own or manage forests, but rather trees on agricultural or settlement land that are currently outside the scope of certification.

We expanded the social requirements, with greater inclusion of human rights, a stepwise approach to living wages (both migrant and local), and the promotion of gender equality. Working conditions shall now be regularly monitored and adapted as necessary, and employment policies must include equal opportunities and non-discrimination.

The revised document also included a refined definition of ecologically important forest areas, supports climate positive practices, and strictly limits the reforestation or afforestation of ecologically important non-forest areas.

Want to know more? Then make sure you listen to our webinars: the first one provides an overview of the changes to the benchmark, while the second one focuses in on the inclusion of Trees outside Forests.

Sustainable Development Goals

This new benchmark extends the impact of PEFC certification beyond forests and enhances its contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The inclusion of Trees outside Forests will help to increase income and productivity of agricultural land and agroforestry, especially in developing countries, reducing poverty (SDG 1) and hunger (SDG 2). It is also relevant for trees in cities and urban forests, with a positive impact on sustainable cities (SDG 11) and the well-being of urban populations (SDG 3).

Expanded social requirements will contribute towards decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), reduced inequalities (SDG 10) and gender equality (SDG 5). There are also enhanced provisions to safeguard the interests of indigenous peoples and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of traditional and local knowledge (SDG 2 & 4).

The sharpened definition of ecologically important forest areas, references to the role of forests in providing ecosystem services, and the forbidding of reforestation or afforestation of ecologically important non-forest areas, all support life on land (SDG 15). While the climate positive practices support climate action (SDG 13).