Australian Forestry Standard
The Australian Forestry Standard - AS 4708-2007 - is an Australian Standard prepared by a Technical Reference Committee consisting:
- Independent professional and scientific experts
- Forest owners and processors
- Community and consumer interest groups
- Regulatory or controlling bodies.
The standard provides forest managers with the following economic, social, environmental and cultural criteria:
- Forest management shall be undertaken in a systematic manner that addresses the range of forest values
- Forest Management shall provide for public participation and foster on-going relationships to be a good neighbour
- Forest management shall protect and maintain the biological diversity of forests, including their successional stages, across the regional landscape
- Forest management shall maintain the productive capacity of forests
- Forest management shall maintain forest ecosystem health and vitality
- Forest management shall protect soil and water resources
- Forest management shall maintain forests' contribution to carbon cycles
- Forest management shall protect and maintain, for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, their natural, cultural, social, religious and spiritual heritage values
- Forest management shall maintain and enhance long-term social and economic benefits.
For more information visit: Australian Forestry Standard
Australian Forestry Standard's International Recognition
The Australian Forestry Standard is recognised by the international forest certification scheme - the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC). PEFC is a global umbrella organisation for assessing national forest certification schemes.
PEFC is the world's largest certification scheme. It has a membership of independent national forest certification systems that account for over 202 million hectares of certified forests producing millions of tonnes of certified timber to the market place.
For more information visit: Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes