News
AEFC is hiring a CEO. Please apply by the end of July, 2025. For more information, see: https://shorturl.at/zxskO
The Association for Ecological Forestry Certification Ry is a Non-Profit Organization and Worldwide Promoter of Ecologically Responsible Forestry.
The Association was established in May 2023 in Helsinki Finland and its main task is to develop and sustain a system for certifying and labelling timber and wood products. The forestry principles of the certification will be based on Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF). CCF is economical, but also significantly improves biodiversity conservation, water quality, carbon sequestration and socially just forest use.
Association's work for defining globally applicable performance-based principles, criteria, indicators and standards for ecologically, socially and culturally sustainable forestry has already started and first national standards in Estonia, Finland and Sweden will be ready in 2025.
The AEFC organisation was established to bring tangible and measurable change to responsible forestry management and practice. As a pan-Nordic and Baltic collaboration by origin, the organisation brings together an unparalleled regional expertise committed to redefining the manner in which forest-owners by using elevated standards of practice can economically efficiently manage their land while not overlooking forest non-monetary values.
Reasons for Developing a New Certification
• Biodiversity continues to decline even in countries with 98% of forest certified with current certification systems.
• The scientific community does not endorse as sustainable any current certification system.
• High Conservation Value Forest continues to be logged and still certified.
• No clearcut limits in many countries.
Why Has Certification not Made a Difference?
• Clearcuts without size limits are commonly allowed.
• Very limited systems for protecting High Conservation Value Forests -> some HCVFs get logged and still certified.
• Carbon issues are still ignored.
• Forest industries have veto on changes: compromises at negotiations constantly overreach nature's limits.