The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on December 11, 2023, issued a Press release regarding the Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme to promote the Sustainable Management of forests and agroforestry
The following has been stated namely: -
• It has launched the Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme, which aims towards voluntary third-party certification designed to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country.
• This scheme includes forest management certification, tree outside forest management certification, and chain of custody certification.
• This scheme provides market incentives to various entities that adhere to responsible forest management and agroforestry practices in their operations. This includes state forest departments, individual farmers, or Farmer Producer Organizations engaged in agroforestry and farm forestry, as well as other wood-based industries in the value chain.
• It states that this scheme shall be overseen by the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Council, which will act as a multistakeholder advisory body.
• It further states that the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal will act as the scheme operating agency and will be responsible for overall management of the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme.
• The scheme has been attached for reference.
[Press Release ID 1985119]
