1. The Process of China National Forest Certification Scheme
March 16th, New Dehli
Benson Yu

2. Today Agenda
The scheme building process of China Forest Certification Scheme(CFCS)
The endorsement process between CFCS and PEFC
Government policy support

3. The Scheme Building Process of CFCS

4. China Forest Certification Scheme (CFCS)
The process started in 2001.
Fully in line with laws and regulations.
The process was driven by the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and multiple stakeholders involvement process.
In March of 2001 Division of Forest Certification was established within SFA .

5. China Forest Certification Scheme (CFCS)
Certification standards setting were launched in 2001 for FM and in 2003 for COC.
Drafting staff from research institutes, forestry colleges, FMUs, enterprises and NGO etc.
FM & CoC standards were released as forestry sector standards in 2007.
Both standards were revised and upgraded into national standards in 2012.

6. FM and COC (Sector Standards) in 2007

7. FM and COC standards (National Standards) in 2012

8. China Forest Certification Scheme (CFCS)
The first local certification body was approved by CNCA in 2009,
another 3 were approved at the beginning of 2014.
China Forest Certification Council (CFCC) was founded as the scheme governing body in 2010, which consists of representatives from all stakeholders, 21 members.
CFCC consists of Secretariat, Arbitration Committee and the Stakeholder Forum.

9. Logo of China Forest Certification Council9

10. CFCC Progress in Certification Practice
Until now:
For FM: 4.31 million ha of forest areas of 23 FMUs
Covering: natural forests and plantations, in the north and in the south
For COC: 16 certificates

11. Accreditation According to Certification and Accreditation Regulation
Auditors: have to be accredited and registered by the China Certification and Accreditation Association (CCAA)
Certification bodies(CBs) for CFCC, have to be:
all of the CBs have to be approved by the Certification and Accreditation Administration of China (CNCA)
For FM certification, accredited by the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS)
For COC certification, accredited by either CNAS, or other members of International Accreditation Forum (IAF) etc

12. China Forest Certification Scheme (CFCS)
Apart from FM and COC certification, CFCS has also other scopes of certification:
No timber forest products (NTFP)
Bamboo forest management
Forest eco-environmental services
Commercially managed endangered, rare and precious species
Carbon sequestration forest

13. The Endorsement between CFCS and PEFC

14. The Endorsement between PEFC and CFCC
In 2005 the State Forestry Administration (SFA) sent the delegation to visit PEFC Council.
From 2007 SFA sent delegation to attend the PEFC General Assembly as observer .
In 2011 CFCC joined PEFC as an national member.
In September of 2012 CFCC formally delivered the application and the scheme documents to PEFC Council for endorsement.
CFCS was endorsed by PEFC in Feb of 2014.

15. The Endorsement between PEFC and CFCC
Procedure 1: Application (Sep of 2012)
Procedure 2: International bidding for scheme assessment body (from Oct to Dec of 2012)
Procedure 3: International Consultation (Oct to Dec of 2012)
Procedure 4: External assessment process (Jan to July of 2013)
Procedure 5: Panel of experts review (Dec of 2013)
Procedure 6: Recommendation by the PEFC Council Board of Directors (Jan of 2014)
Procedure 7: Decision by the General Assembly
(Feb 5th of 2014)

17. Government Policy Support

18. A SFA policy document issued in 2010
The Chinese Government is very supportive to forest certification, especially the national scheme (CFCS)
A policy document “SFA Guiding Principles on Accelerating the Work of Forest Certification” was issued in September 2010, with key policy instruments
Incorporate certified products into government procurement policy
Support in other areas (technical guidance, information service, project arrangement, resource utilization and market access) for certified FMUs and companies

19. Very likely government procurement policy
SFA policy document specified “incorporate certified products into government procurement policy as soon as possible”
A project on feasibility study and technical design is being conducted
Should be very effective as the percentage of government procurement in the government spending, state revenue and GDP is quite high in China compared with most countries in the world

20. Other likely policy instruments
Likely government subsidy policy for certified products listed in the government procurement policy
Subsidy directly to certified FMUs and companies, with amount close to certification costs.

21. Thank You for Your Attention!
Promote the Sustainable Forest Management
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