Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) strengthened cooperation on Tuesday (June 30) to integrate timber certification systems to improve forest governance and expand global market access for Indonesian forest products.

The cooperation will integrate Indonesia's Timber Legality and Sustainability Verification System (SVLK) with FSC certification through a joint audit mechanism, according to a statement issued by the Ministry.

The initiative is designed to reduce duplication in certification, improve efficiency, strengthen forest governance, and enhance the competitiveness of Indonesian forest products in international markets.

Director General of Sustainable Forest Management at the Ministry of Forestry Laksmi Wijayanti said the collaboration would strengthen links between Indonesia's national forestry framework and internationally recognized sustainability standards.

"Through this collaboration, we want to strengthen synergy between national and international approaches to sustainable forest management so that it can deliver tangible benefits for the environment, communities, and forestry-based businesses," Laksmi said.

Under the agreement, the Directorate General of Sustainable Forest Management and FSC will develop a joint audit mechanism covering the supply chain from forest management units to exporters and importers.

A joint audit enables multiple certification systems to be assessed simultaneously by a single audit team, reducing time and resource requirements and avoiding duplicate assessments without compromising the credibility or integrity of either certification system.

The memorandum of understanding also covers efforts to improve forest management performance, align remedy frameworks to support the Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) Net Sink 2030 target, strengthen human resource capacity, promote sustainable forest management, expand professional networks, and exchange market information.

The cooperation also seeks to broaden market access for forest products certified under both SVLK and FSC standards.

"We hope the development of the joint SVLK-FSC audit mechanism will improve forest governance and strengthen global market confidence in Indonesian forest products, ultimately creating greater added value for sustainable forest managers," Laksmi said.

The FSC International Director General, Subhra Bhattacharjee, said the partnership reflects FSC's global commitment to promoting responsible forest management while creating new economic opportunities.
  
Source: antaranews.com