Forest Certification Council to be set up

KOCHI: The Union Government would soon set up an Indian Forest Certification Council as part of the activities to bring in forest certification. Speaking at a press conference organised as part of the training workshop on ‘Responsible wood trade for SMEs in Kerala’, organised by Global Forest & Trade Network India and WWF (World Wifllife Fund) here on Friday, T R Manoharan, head, Forest Programme and GFTN India, said that officials from the Union Government has declared that the certification council would be set up soon.BS Corrie, Additional PCCF, Forest Department, said that the attempt through certification is to promote responsible use of wood.He pointed out that scope for certification of wood is higher in the export sector. “The certified wood will always get a better treatment in the export market. Similarly, there are initiatives to conserve forest as part of the GFTN initiatives. The Forest Department in the state and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) have agreed to join the certification process,” the officials said adding that certification process and related activities are being undertaken by the Indian Institute of Forest.Already, a forest portion in South India has been included for certification. Also a number of traders have come up expressing interest in delaing with certified wood. “Out of the 270 SMEs across the globe which are certified, 10 are from India, in which one is from Kochi. Others are from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and some other states,” they said.