Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
Small growers receive their forest certification
Five small-scale timber growers in KwaZulu-Natal have made history, as the first participants in the Sappi Khulisa programme to achieve forest certification through the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) in the Sappi Group scheme for small growers.
Sappi, a member of the Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA), announced that the five timber growers, with a total 8 143ha of timber area, have been successfully audited and awarded a PEFC Group Scheme certificate.
The recipients of the award and founding members of the Sappi PEFC Group Scheme are the iMfume Cluster, consisting of more than 20 small growers from the Mfume district, near Scottburgh, Sobengwe Trading from Ixopo, MG Farming from Richmond, Mclean M from Underberg, and Braecroft Timbers from Underberg.
According to the company, the Sappi Khulisa Programme is a tree-farming scheme established in 1983, which initially focused on subsistence farmers with between one and 20ha of land on which to grow trees for commercial use. Today, the programme has expanded to include community forestry projects as well as supplementary agroforestry enterprises, such as beekeeping and vegetable farming, said Sappi in a statement. “This follows years of intensive efforts by Sappi, working together with other players in the forestry industry in addressing the barriers of entry for small growers to achieve certification. This international certification provides the crucial assurance to end-use consumers.”
In 2021, Sappi announced it had achieved the first PEFC endorsed Sustainable African Forest Assurance Scheme certification in South Africa after starting the process in 2015. According to the company, a certification tool is developed by the team to assess plantations, based on several factors including environmental, social and economic specific to South Africa. “After years of collaboration and dedicated commitment to developing a forest certification standard for South Africa, this achievement marks a historical moment in our long journey to support and make forest certification more accessible to the small landowners that participate in our programmes,” said Duane Roothman, vice president of Sappi Forests. According to the company, forest certification is used as a tool to ensure that responsible forest management practices are implemented. Forest certification and other voluntary codes of conduct are key for promoting sustainable consumption and production. They help combat deforestation and illegal logging by providing proof of legality and responsible harvesting practices, said Sappi.