Accreditation for small-scale timber growers on the cards

South Africa’s approximately

20 000 small-scale timber growers are now one major step closer to having access to globally recognised certification for their sustainably grown forestry products.

This is after the international organisation, Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), recently announced its endorsement of the South African Forestry Accreditation Scheme (SAFAS) that has been in development for over four years.

A statement issued by SAFAS explained that this local initiative had been motivated by the need for an alternative to the longstanding and internationally used Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification. “While these [FSC] standards are internationally recognised and generic, they are also expensive and not well suited to small-scale timber growers, which means that only large organisations tend to certify their plantations,” said Craig Norris, SAFAS governing body member and forest technology manager at NCT Forestry.

Norris added that as national and global demand for sustainably produced and certified forestry products increased, a lack of appropriate certification for South Africa’s small-scale timber growers had become a trade barrier.

“It is these farmers that most need support, access to markets, and development to ensure a vibrant, sustainable forest industry that promotes social development in poor rural areas,” he said. Michael Peter, executive director of Forestry South Africa, said that an alternative to FSC certification would offer the commercial forestry industry more ownership and control of its products.

“As the SAFAS standard is homegrown, directly relevant to a range of South African conditions, and more flexible with respect to group [grower] schemes, we hope that this move will facilitate the full involvement of small-scale growers and improve the sustainability of the forestry industry,” he added.

Ben Gunneberg, CEO and secretarygeneral of the PEFC, said: “Sustainable forest management goes beyond safeguarding forests as an ecosystem. It is also about securing sustainable livelihoods for the hundreds of millions of people living, working and depending on forests.” – Lloyd Phillips