Forest Certification in Australia
Forest certification has developed around the world as a way of demonstrating the implementation of sustainable forestry practices. To have a forest certified as being sustainably managed, an independent third party audit is undertaken. The audit assesses the forest management practices against the standard for certification. Both native forests and plantations can be certified.
The two major global forest certification bodies are the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) schemes and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Both the PEFC and FSC are internationally recognised forest certification networks that provide for the mutual recognition of regional and national standards that meet their criteria for sustainable forest management.
In Australia, forest managers have the option of certifying their forests under either the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), which is recognised under the PEFC, or the FSC. The AFCS uses the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) as the relevant standard for certifying forest management. FSC currently uses interim forest management standards in Australia but has committed to the development of a national FSC standard for Australia.
The AFCS is administered by AFS Ltd whereas FSC certification in Australia is administered by FSC Australia.
Presently there are around 9 million hectares of native and plantation forests certified in Australia. This consists of 8.7 million hectares certified under the AFS and just over half a million hectares under FSC.
Product sourced from certified forests can also be tracked (via labeling) through the supply chain using chain-of-custody certification. This provides consumers with an assurance that the wood product they are purchasing comes from a sustainably managed and certified forest.
The Australian Government supports all globally recognised forest certification schemes that provide for legal and sustainable forest management and believes that the choice of forest certification scheme is a decision for forest owners/managers.