The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (Iwokrama) on Monday announced that it has been confirmed that it has retained its Forest Stewardship Council™ (FSC™) Certification for Forest Management for the Iwokrama Forest.
According to an Iwokrama release, this certification followed a surveillance visit conducted by Soil Association Certification Limited of the UK during September 2019. The Iwokrama Forest was the first forest to have maintained this certification in Guyana. “We are pleased to announce that other forest managers have followed suit so that there are now two other forest management certificates and three chain-of-custody certificates in Guyana.”
FSC™ certification is the highest international accolade that Forest Managers can receive and the Centre noted that it is testament to its application of international social, ecological and environmental best practices in its management of the Iwokrama Forest. Iwokrama’s forest management procedures and policies, it informed, were rigorously measured against the Soil Association Certification FSC™ Standard adapted for Guyana. Key to the adherence to FSC™ guidelines is that forest managers must follow all national rules, laws and guidelines including the GFC’s comprehensive Codes of Practice. The assessment team evaluated all elements of Iwokrama’s operations applicable to the standard to determine compliance against national and international benchmarks.
During the annual surveillance assessment, Iwokrama received two major corrective actions which were successfully closed on Monday. The Centre stated that non-compliances are a normal part of any assessment process and based on the severity of the non-compliance with the standard, it could prevent the applicant from being certified.
Iwokrama noted that in recent years many international buyers and consumers have increased demands for proof of forest products being sourced from well-managed forests. Currently, all of the major global markets, it says, require some sort of certification for imports. To this end the European Union and the Government of Guyana are also pursuing a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) which will allow more access of Guyana’s wood to EU member countries. The FSC™ brand in particular is highly recognised globally for its independent assessment, and for its opinion on products that have been produced in a more environmentally friendly manner.
The Centre expressed its thanks to the German Government, the Government of Guyana, Dr Horst Vogel and Annette Arjoon-Martins, the certification team of the Centre, and the North Rupununi District Development Board, for their unwavering support, the release added.
