PEFC strengthens collaboration in South America
The workshop, which will take place from 20-24 April 2015 in Montevideo, Uruguay, will bring together South American based PEFC organizations and external stakeholders.
PEFC strengthens collaboration in South America
9 February 2015 News
Developing a much stronger presence in South America to better communicate the benefits of forest certification to forest owners, companies and consumers - this is the objective of the first PEFC South American Regional Workshop.
The workshop, which will take place from 20-24 April 2015 in Montevideo, Uruguay, will bring together South American based PEFC organizations and external stakeholders to assess opportunities for identifying potential synergies and improving collaboration and coordination, and to develop strategies to improve market demand and access for PEFC-certified products.
“For our country, and in particular PEFC Uruguay, it is an honor to host this first regional meeting,” said Atilio Ligrone, National Secretary of PEFC Uruguay and the Manager of the Society of Forest Producers. “Ultimately, our goal is to bring more forests under sustainable forest management, and with this first regional gathering we aim to enable internal and external stakeholders to join forces to better reach out to everybody along the timber value chain: from forest owners to companies to consumers.”
The workshop will consist of an internal coordination meeting, where PEFC members can share ideas, information and experiences, and identify areas for potential collaboration at regional level, and an open conference for everybody interested in promoting sustainable forest management and PEFC certification. Participants will learn about the current state of PEFC in South America as well as current and future markets for PEFC-certified products, and elaborate how we all can contribute to towards increased demand and visibility of PEFC.
The workshop will be rounded off with a field visit to the two PEFC-certified companies in Uruguay, where participants can obtain hands on experience into how and why these companies achieved the PEFC certification of their sustainable forest management practices and why it is important to them.
“This regional workshop is the first step towards strengthening PEFC in Latin America and increasing its reach as a driving force for sustainable forest management,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. “We encourage everybody interested in safeguarding South America’s unique forest landscape to participate and to identify how each of us can best contribute to achieving our joint objective.”