International Conference on Forest certification and protection from illegal logging

Forest certification is an evolving set of policies andcriteria that, essentially, provide accountability for forest management on a particular ownership. Additionally, it can serve the forest owner (private or public) by identifying areas where resource management might be improved. There are several major certification systems and various ways of securing certification. During the conference, representatives will spoke about the following forest certification systems : FSC - Forest Stewardship Council, PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, SFI (SM) -Sustainable Forestry Initiative, SFE - Sustainable Forestry Education, ISO - International Standards Organization, VPA and CIFOR and the Due diligence of the EUTR. Illegal logging is the harvesting, transporting, processing, buying or selling of timber in violation of national laws. This definition also applies to harvesting wood from protected areas, exporting threatened plant/tree species, and falsifying official documents. It also includes breaking license agreements, tax evasion, corrupting government officials and interfering with access and rights to forest areas. During the conference, representatives will spoke about the different programs of protection from illegal logging.