Only one year after the first PEFC certificate was issued in Poland, more than 4 million hectares of forests are now certified to PEFC.
"We have experienced an unprecedented demand for PEFC certification in the past year, with almost half of Poland's forests now certified to PEFC," said Krzysztof Jodlowski, the Chairman of PEFC Poland.
"This demand is not entirely surprising: In Poland, the PEFC standard is the only forest management standard that has been developed by local stakeholders in a participatory process. It incorporates the knowledge of Polish forest managers with their long history and tradition of responsible practices and therefore best meets local requirements and expectations."
The first PEFC certificate in Poland, covering an area of 316,000 hectares, was issued to the Regional Directorate of State Forests (RDLP), Radom, in January 2011. "PEFC certification not only confirms the sustainability of our forest management practices in line with globally accepted benchmarks, but it also allows us respond to increasing requests for PEFC certified timber," highlighted Adam Wasiak, Head of RDLP Radom, when receiving the certificate.
"We are continuing to work with public and private forest owners and expect a further growth in PEFC certified forest area in 2012," emphasized Krzysztof Jodlowski. "We are also increasing our outreach and capacity building efforts to companies along the timber supply chain. With sufficient volumes of PEFC certified timber now available, Polish companies should be interested in taking advantage of the benefits and international recognition that PEFC certification offers. "
Forest cover in Poland is 8.6 million hectares, almost 28% of the country's total area. More than two-thirds of the forests are publicly owned, while approximately 1.4 million forest owners own 16% of the forest land. As of 31st December 2011 4,000,734 hectares are certified to PEFC.
