PEFC at the 9th FOREST EUROPE Ministerial Conference

25 October 2024 Event report

PEFC was honoured to participate in the 9^th ministerial meeting of FOREST EUROPE on 1-2 October in Bonn, Germany. As observers, we appreciated the opportunity to engage in insightful and valuable exchanges on the future of forests in Europe.

FOREST EUROPE is a Pan-European high-level forest policy process aiming to develop common strategies for sustainable forest management at the pan-European level. Bringing together 46 signatories, 14 observer countries and 48 observer organisation, it directs its focus on Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), risk assessment and mitigation, and forest education.

The 9^th Ministerial Conference

PEFC and the German delegation

The signatories of the Ministerial conference made decisions to strengthen future cooperation on forests across pan-Europe by adopting the Bonn Ministerial Documents – Bonn Ministerial Declaration and the Bonn Ministerial Decision – reaffirming the commitment of FOREST EUROPE’s signatories and observers to promoting collective actions for resilient forests through SFM policies and practices and laying the foundation for a pan-European Forest Risk Facility.

The PEFC delegation, consisting of Maja Drca (PEFC International) and Ana Belén Noriega Bravo (PEFC Spain), officially addressed the honourable ministers and esteemed delegates and highlighted the relevant link between PEFC and FOREST EUROPE.

“The creation of PEFC 25 years ago represented a fundamental milestone for forest owners and managers in Europe, enabling them to support the management of their forests through an internationally recognised system,” they highlighted.

“This system was based on Forest Europe’s criteria and indicators agreed in the Ministerial Conference in Helsinki including the Pan-European Operational Guidelines. It was a strong commitment of forest owners, in collaboration with other forest sector actors, stakeholders and governments, which provided the first push towards SFM, audited and verified by an independent third party.”

The future FOREST EUROPE supported by PEFC

Maja Drca, PEFC EU Representative, reiterated PEFC’s support to the FOREST EUROPE process.

“Promotion of sustainable forest management through third party certification is our core mission. SFM goes beyond safeguarding forests as an ecosystem. It is about securing sustainable livelihoods for people that work and depend on forests, and about rural development and communities. Therefore, it is important to remain innovative, open and adaptable to changes and being able to respond to today’s biggest challenges. To do this together, in partnerships.

Maja Drca with Bekir Karacabey General Director of Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye
Photo: OGM

The increasing focus of forest certification today involves considerations about legislative and other developments where voluntary tools, like ours, could support the implementation on the ground through a multiplier effect. We are already responding to the EU’s policies on deforestation-free, closer to nature forest management, renewable energy and others.

Enhancing our focus on demonstrating impacts in the future is something we see as a key requirement to continue building acceptance and awareness of what the forest community does and bringing people together with consensus-based solutions.

Just like in FOREST EUROPE, dialogue and sharing experiences and knowledge is also at the centre of forest certification. It is about strengthening communication on the benefits of SFM and also of the forest-based value chain from sustainably managed forests all the way to end-products and consumers,” she said.

“We congratulate FOREST EUROPE on your achievements, signed Ministerial documents, your communication outputs, your engagement with the youth and your activities around the topic of Green jobs. Management of forest ecosystem services is a good way to create green jobs in the forest sector, however we need to ensure that such jobs remain attractive for people and youth.”

Continued engagement for dialogue and collaboration

Representatives of current and previous liaison offices
of the Forest Europe process

Maja concluded with a call to FOREST EUROPE signatories “to consider and acknowledge the contribution of voluntary tools, like forest certification, in your relevant work and to encourage our collaboration. We appreciate your leadership and commitment to future cooperation on forests in Europe, and PEFC remains dedicated to our shared mission.”

The high-level event provided good opportunities for dialogue and facilitated valuable exchanges of experiences and ideas.

PEFC joined other participants in congratulating the German leadership and the LUBo team for their efforts over the past four years and welcomed the new Swedish chairmanship of the FOREST EUROPE process.