The Association of Indonesia Forest Concession Holders (APHI) and the Indonesian Forestry Certification Cooperation (IFCC) will collaborate to encourage implementation of voluntary forest management certification under the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) scheme.
The aim is to strengthen Indonesian wood product penetration in international markets. The implementation of PEFC certification is expected to strengthen the acceptance of Indonesian wood products that already have the mandatory Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) certificate.
A memorandum of understanding between APHI and IFCC was signed by the chairperson of APHI, Indroyono Soesilo, and the chairperson of IFCC, Saniah Widuri, in the presence of the Director General of Sustainable Forest Management of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Agus Justianto.
There are consumers who require certified wood products but this entails additional costs. This cost could be reduced if a combined audit of mandatory and voluntary schemes is carried out in accordance with ISO 19011:2018, said Agus. ISO 19011:2018 provides guidelines and information on how to improve an audit programme systematically, as per the instructions of the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO).
Agus also noted that the audit process should not create new standards saying “the voluntary scheme must require SVLK as one of the audit components”. According to him, the SVLK logo must also be included on transportation documents, certificates, products and packaging.
Source: ITTO
