The Need for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM)
Forests contain some of the most valuable and bio-diverse ecosystems on the planet. Without forests, vital functions would be lost, while many of the species which rely on forests would also be endangered or disappear. They also provide a low-carbon and renewable resource – timber, and support the local communities who live and work in them.
Sustainable Forest Management practices aim to simultaneously maintain and enhance the productive, environmental and social values of forests thereby strengthening their resilience and enabling them to adapt and mitigate for climate change impacts.
To see how these principles are being applied across the country, explore The State of UK Forests: A Comprehensive Overview. This resource highlights current woodland coverage, ownership, biodiversity and certification progress across the UK
PEFC Sustainable Forest Management Certification
In order to provide a global framework for effective and verifiable sustainable forest management, PEFC International has produced a set of Sustainable Forest Management benchmarks, which are detailed with PEFC ST 1003 .
Individual countries or regions where forest practices are similar, can then develop their own SFM standard and submit it to PEFC International for assessment against their benchmarks. If the national/regional standard is deemed to meet the benchmarks, it can be officially endorsed by PEFC International. Forests that are managed in accordance with an endorsed standard PEFC certified.
This bottom up approach to standard development ensures that that the national or regional standards are tailored to local needs but still meet PEFC’s global benchmarks.
PEFC UK Sustainable Forest Management Scheme
The PEFC United Kingdom Certification Scheme for Sustainable Forest Management (the Scheme) was first adopted by PEFC UK Ltd in 2001 and then subsequently endorsed by PEFC Council in 2002.
Since 2002, this UKAS accredited scheme has been periodically revised to ensure that the current version meets the requirements of the latest standards and guides set by the PEFC Council.
The Scheme is based on two national United Kingdom published documents namely, the United Kingdom Forestry Standard (the Government’s Approach to Sustainable Forestry) (5th edition), and the United Kingdom Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS) (the forest management certification standard). The current version of UKWAS (UKWAS 5) was endorsed by the PEFC Council in mid-2024 and became effective in the UK on 1st December 2024.
UKWAS sets out the requirements which woodland owners and managers and certification bodies can use to certify woodland management in the United Kingdom. The standard is the product of an inclusive and transparent process which has involved a balanced representation from the UK forestry and environmental community. It has been designed to ensure that it reflects the requirements of the Government’s UK Forestry Standard and through this the guidelines adopted by European Forestry Ministers at Helsinki in 1993 and Lisbon in 1998.
Certification Options
There are several types of SFM certification available in the UK
1. Individual Certification: This is where an individual forest owner or other enterprise seeks certification for the woodland it owns or manages. This method is available for any size and type of woodland or forest, but is usually adopted by larger entities e.g. Forestry England.
2. Group Certification: A means by which several forest owners or managers can be certified together under a formally identifiable “Group,” rather than as individual entities. Administrative and forest management policies that are relevant to the whole group (e.g. management planning, monitoring) may be implemented by the Group Entity or by individual Group Members. Requirements of UKWAS that are implemented at the local forest level (e.g. species choice, felling design, management of biodiversity etc) must be satisfied by each individual group member. Responsibilities for meeting elements of the UKWAS may not be “traded” between different group members or forest areas – e.g. with one group member meeting all biodiversity criteria whilst another member does not meet any.
