The Czech Forest Certification System and the American Tree Farm System (ATFS) have successfully achieved PEFC re-endorsement, confirming they continue to meet our globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks.
Launched in 1941, ATFS is one of the oldest initiatives for certifying sustainable forestry in the world. It now represents 74,000 tree farmers sustainably managing more than 7.5 million hectares of PEFC-certified forestland. ATFS first achieved PEFC endorsement in 2008, with subsequent re-endorsements in 2013 and now 2017.
The Czech Republic, one of the 11 original national members of PEFC, first achieved PEFC endorsement of their forest certification system back in 2002. This was followed by three more successful endorsements in 2006, 2012 and 2017. In this time, more than 1.8 million hectares of forest have achieved PEFC certification, equaling more than two thirds of the country’s forest area.
The endorsement process
To achieve endorsement, a national system goes through a rigorous assessment to confirm it was developed in line with our requirements. Through this process, we can ensure that the country’s national standards meet our globally accepted PEFC Sustainability Benchmarks.
An independent PEFC Registered Assessor conducts the assessment, which evaluates the compliance of the national system. The assessor bases the assessment on comments received from a 60-day global public consultation, field trips and other available information.
After a national system has successfully passed the assessment, the PEFC General Assembly votes on its endorsement.
Maintaining endorsement
Once endorsed, a national system needs to meet specific endorsement milestones to maintain the validity of the endorsement.
The first milestone is the review date, five years after the national approval of the sustainable forest management standard. To maintain its PEFC endorsement, the periodic review of the national system must be have been started before this review date.
##For the ATFS the review date is 11 November 2019
##For the Czech system the review date is 25 May 2021
https://pefc.org/news-a-media/general-sfm-news/2479-american-tree-farm-system-and-czech-republic-achieve-pefc-re-endorsement