The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched the Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS). The National Forest Certification Scheme provides voluntary third-party certification to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country.
What is Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS)?
Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS) is the national forest certification scheme of India launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It is designed to promote sustainable forest management and management of trees outside forests in the country. IFWCS aims to provide an alternative to private foreign certification agencies operating in India. It seeks to ensure greater integrity, transparency and credibility in sustainable forest management and certifying wood-based products. This National Forest Certification Scheme provides voluntary third party certification to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country. The scheme covers forest management certification, tree outside forest management certification and chain of custody certification. Contains 8 criteria, 69 indicators and 254 verifiers to ensure responsible forest management.
The scheme covers three main areas for certification:
- Sustainable forest management
- Sustainable management of trees outside forests (e.g. tree plantations)
- Chain of custody, which guarantees the traceability of forest products throughout their supply chain, ensuring ethical sourcing and handling
The scheme will be overseen by the Indian Council of Forest and Wood Certification, which will act as a multi-stakeholder advisory body. Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal will act as the scheme operating agency and will be responsible for the overall management of the scheme. The National Board of Accreditation for Certification Bodies under the Quality Council of India will accredit the certification bodies which will conduct independent audit and assess the adherence of various institutions to the standards prescribed under the Scheme.
Benefit:
- This certification is expected to increase trust and transparency in processes related to forest management and wood-based products.
- IFWCS can provide market incentives to various entities that follow responsible forest management and agroforestry practices.
- This includes state forest departments, individual farmers or farmer producer organizations engaged in agroforestry and farm forestry as well as other wood-based industries.