Plantation Management
Certification
Australian Forest Certification Scheme
The Australian Forest Certification Scheme sets stringent criteria for sustainable forest management of timber production for both planted and native forest:
- Criterion 1
Forest management shall be undertaken in a systematic manner that addresses the range of forest values - Criterion 2
Forest management shall provide for public participation and foster on-going relationships to be a good neighbour - Criterion 3
Forest management shall protect and maintain the biological diversity of forests, including their successional stages, across the regional landscape. - Criterion 4
Forest management shall maintain the productive capacity of forests - Criterion 5
Forest management shall maintain forest ecosystem health and vitality - Criterion 6
Forest management shall protect soil and water resources - Criterion 7
Forest management shall maintain forests' contribution to carbon cycles - Criterion 8
Forest management shall protect and maintain, for Indigenous and non-indigenous people, their natural, cultural, social, religious and spiritual heritage values - Criterion 9
Forest management shall maintain and enhance long-term social and economic benefits
The standard was developed to enable Australia to compete in the international market place where consumers are increasingly demanding verification that timber and wood products have come from sustainably managed forests. The essential elements of the Australian Forest Certification Scheme (AFCS), which commenced with the drafting of the Australian Forestry Standard in 2000, were fully developed during 2002 and 2003 to provide an 'Australian forest certification scheme' based on Australia's conformity assessment framework.
The AFCS is has been mutually recognised by the international Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC). Internationally the PEFC has (at 13 November 2006):
- 32 Member countries – Australia joined in 2002
- 22 endorsed member schemes – Australia was endorsed in 2004
- 192 million hectares of certified forest (c.f. 72 million ha under Forest Stewardship Council certification) – Australia has 5.7 million hectares (x Plantations)
- 18700 PEFC logo users – 6 in Australia
- 2850 Chain of Custody licences - 3 in Australia (11 in Japan, 3 in China)
Find out more about PEFC: http://www.pefc.org/internet/html/
The main elements of the AFCS are:
- The Australian Forestry Standard [AS 4708(Int)-2003]
- The Chain of Custody Standard [AS 4707(Int)-2004]
- The JAS-ANZ Australian Forestry Standard Certification Program
- The JAS-ANZ Product Certification Program including AFS Limited's Chain of Custody Scheme Rules
- The Logo Use Rules Manuals for the AFS and PEFC Logos
Other documentation which supports the AFCS includes the report "Benchmarking The Australian Forestry Standard" (to provide a compatibility assessment of the AFS's criteria and requirements with the Pan European Operational Level Guidelines); the report "Australian & Canadian Sustainable Forest Management Standards - A Comparative Analysis of AS 4708(Int)?2003 and CAN/CSA Z809-02" (to provide a compatibility assessment of the AFS's criteria and requirements with the Canadian national standard as both are Montreal Process countries) and the Record of Process submissions made to Standards Australia for the AFS and CoC Standard.
Those documents under the main elements above provide for standard development and accreditation which when combined with accredited certification through independent, third-party certification bodies define the three essential components of a credible certification scheme. The provision of labelling and claims emanating from certifications provide the visible evidence of conformity by a certified organisation.
The major strength of the AFCS, when compared to other forest certification schemes, is its separation of the main elements of the certification scheme i.e. standards development, accreditation and certification.
In the AFCS, the elements of standards development, accreditation and certification are undertaken by:
- Standards development – Australian Forestry Standard Limited
- Accreditation – The Joint Accreditation System of Australian & New Zealand (JAS-ANZ)
- Certification – independent, third-party, Australian certification bodies with three for the AFS and one for Chain of Custody at present
- Labelling and claims - Australian Forestry Standard Limited.
It is the framework of the AFCS which draws together these organisations in the delivery of Australia’s only national forest certification scheme.
The development of the Australian Forestry Standard involved a wide range of stakeholders including scientists, community groups, forest owners, forest industries and governments, and includes public consultation on a draft standard.
| NB Some areas include Native Forest in addition to Plantation area. Certified areas of only Native Forest are not included | |||
| ORGANISATION | STATE | TYPE | HECTARES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunns Limited | TAS | Native Forest / Plantation | 273 931 |
| Forestry Tasmania | TAS | Native Forest / Plantation | 1 450 285 |
| WA Plantation Resources Pty Ltd | WA | Plantation | 33 000 |
| Forestry SA | SA | Plantation | 132 805 |
| Midway Pty Ltd | VIC | Native Forest / Plantation | 16 103 |
| Forestry Plantations Queensland | QLD | Plantation | 318 867 |
| Bunbury Treefarm Project | WA | Plantation | 14 875 |
| Portland Treefarm Project | VIC | Plantation | 1 600 |
| South East Fibre Exporters Pty Ltd | NSW/VIC | Plantation | 4 955 |
Find out more about the Australian Forest Certification Scheme.
