AFS Group Certification Manual:Making world-class certification a reality for small forest growers
Forest certification has been an important development for Australia’s forest industry in demonstrating world class sustainability. With widespread adoption by large companies and state forestry agencies the challenge now exists for small scale growers to achieve certification of their forests.
The National Association of Forest Industries (NAFI) has undertaken a very successful project, with the support of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, through their Sustainable Industries Initiative, to encourage greater uptake of forest certification by small growers under the internationally recognised Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).
Overcoming the barriers preventing participation by small growers in certification was a key outcome of this project. This was achieved through the development of the AFS Group Certification Manual, which is a complete and comprehensive tool giving groups of small growers all the documentation they need to satisfy the rigours of forest certification through the AFS.
The AFS Group Certification Manual provides the essential material for a group manager to take on the role of achieving and maintaining certification on behalf of a pool of small growers, an approach which has been widely adopted in the US many European countries as a successful means of achieving certification for small forest growers.
Group certification has the advantage of reducing the costs and red-tape related burdens of certification for individual growers, and at the same time increasing their capacity to meet the high standards of the AFS.
Instead of individual landholders going through an expensive and expansive certification set-up phase, they can now join forces with like forest growers and apply the NAFI built AFS Group Certification Manual.
Certification under the internationally recognised AFS provides consumers with a guarantee that they are purchasing wood products from forests managed in accordance with the highest possible standards of sustainability.
Certification is becoming an increasing market requirement and NAFI’s project has been the first in ensuring that small growers are now well positioned to access this market.
Download the AFS Group Certification Manual
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