We give the word to smallholders – the people we cannot fail

18 September 2019 20th anniversary

In this month’s chapter, the spotlight is on small- and family forest owners, the people who founded PEFC and implement our standards every day on the ground.

Millions of small- and family forest owners manage about 30% of the world's forest area. This makes them crucial partners in our work to achieve sustainable management of the world's forests.

Rather than only reporting about smallholders, we will give the word to them and hear their stories and thoughts about PEFC and sustainable forest management.

“PEFC is like a global handshake on sustainability”

Sven Erik Hammar is a smallholder in Sweden. In his video, he tells us about the meaning of PEFC for him and other smallholders, and takes us on a tour into his forest.

His forest covers 660 ha, half of which is productive forest land, the other half is marshland and mountain birch forest. The forest has been in his family for 200 years at its present site.

The PEFC certification of his forest is of special importance for Sven Erik. “I know that forest owners all over the world have the same benchmark. It’s like a global handshake on sustainability.”

Sven Erik mentions the study ‘European Family Forest Owners’ views on Forest Certification‘, a joint project of several organisations and associations representing forest owners in Europe.

“The study shows that PEFC as a system is best suited to include the smallholder perspective. In particular the possibility to balance social, environmental and ecological sustainability in one discussion.”

“Smallholders are a great resource,” he says. “We can provide the world with sustainably grown products from the forests. Our forests.”