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For an organization like the Casentinesi Forests , the acquisition of the Sustainable Forest Management Certification was a “natural” process and a direct consequence of the quality of planning and working methods that have always been characterized by particular attention to sustainability.
PEFC is a set of certification schemes that, through an independent third-party body, certifies sustainable forest management by defining a set of Inter greenhouses and indicators that allow the evaluation of environmental performance and the sustainability of forest management systems. The monitoring activity, with compliance with criteria and indicators, was entrusted to forestry technicians of the Union of Mountain Municipalities of Casentino, while the external body that carried out the periodic inspection checks and issued the certificate is CSQA .
The certification process involved the construction of a document system and procedures starting from the analysis of the management reality of the Casentinesi Forests. In practice, the PEFC Ita1000-2015 standard requires the drafting of a manual where, among other things, the following are indicated: the organizational structure, the Sustainable Forest Management policy, the stakeholder involvement actions, the management of non-conformities and complaints, the monitoring of the criteria of the Sustainable Forest Management indicators and an improvement program for some of them. This was followed by an in-depth information and training phase, specifically dedicated to the staff of the Union of Municipalities.
Information activities also involved high-level stakeholders, first and foremost the National Park staff but also environmental associations, hikers and ordinary citizens.
These activities proved to be very useful for stakeholder engagement and also highlighted the potential inherent in the development of a local wood supply chain, particularly silver fir.
Once this phase, which began in 2021 and continued for almost the entire following year, was concluded, in December 2022 the inspection verification by CSQ A Certificazioni was carried out, obtaining the PEFC certificate. This result, which, given the complexity of the process, may seem like a point of no return, is actually a starting point.
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Source: Sherwood – Forests and Trees Today