Monday, June 13, 2016
“We are very happy and proud to officially become part of the PEFC family,” said Hyemi Lee, from the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute (KoFPI), following the acceptance of Republic of Korea as a PEFC National member.
Lee also stated that they faced many difficulties during the development of their Korea Forest Certification Scheme, therefore the help and support they had received for the whole PEFC alliance has been invaluable.
“As well as the vital information from PEFC International, we also received help from other PEFC National members, in particular from Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan and Malaysia, to name a few,” Ms. Lee continued.
“We appreciate the opportunity to support Korea in the development of their national forest certification system,” said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International CEO. “One of the great strengths of PEFC is the high level of adaptability of national standards to local conditions.” He added further.
“PEFC members around the world have accumulated a wealth of experience working with people on the ground to establish sustainable forest management requirements responding to their needs while responding to international expectations, and we’re looking forward to sharing knowledge with KoFPI,” Mr. Gunneberg concluded
The move toward PEFC
“While forest certification has been present in Republic of Korea for the last few years, the current models are not well suited to our national conditions,” continued Ms. Lee, explaining the motivation to develop a national forest certification system in line with PEFC’s international requirements. “Furthermore, we are going to apply for PEFC endorsement within this year,” Ms. Lee added further. “We believe that through PEFC endorsement we can promote and spread sustainable forest management throughout Korea.” He concluded.
The KFCC has since conducted various activities such as the development of national standards and pilot tests. Applying and becoming a PEFC member was an important step towards the submission of the national system to PEFC.
Republic of Korea becomes the latest country in Asia to join the PEFC alliance, highlighting their continued growth in this region.
Tags: Hyemi Lee, koFPI, korea forest certification scheme, PEFC, PEFC alliance, PEFC national member, republic of korea
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