Friday, October 23, 2015
In this October in Madrid, the 7th Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe was held as part of the Forest Europe process which was launched in 1990.
“The green economy, which we all want to promote, is going to be a bio-based economy: it will rely on biomass much more than it does today, including from forest origins. This is positive, but the shift will become a real challenge for forest management in Europe, and globally. Increased demand and intensified use can lead to forest degradation, and even deforestation,” noted FSC Chief Advocacy Officer, John Hontelez, during the discussions.
FSC called for recognition for the role of forest certification during roundtable entitled Future challenges and opportunities.
“This increased demand for forest resources will make sustainable forest management even more important than ever. At the supply side but also at the demand side. FSC is ready for these challenges and opportunities. This is reflected in our new Principles and Criteria, which this year have been complemented with our International Generic Indicators (IGIs). We believe that the IGIs will ensure that forests contribute to the green economy, to decent workplaces, to mitigating climate change, and to strengthening the ecosystem services of forests,” concluded Mr Hontelez.
Forest Europe brings together all European countries, including Russia and Turkey, to promote vital, productive and multi-functional forestry.
FSC is the largest forest certification scheme in the Forest Europe area, with 91 million ha of forest FSC certified in 33 of its 46 members, and almost 17,000 FSC chain of custody certificates in 42 countries.
Tags: europe, FSC certification, ministerial conference, protection of forest
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