Bringing SFM to Myanmar
Working in Partnership to Bring Sustainable Management to Myanmar’s Forests
This project is a joint initiative between Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC) and PEFC International to work on sustainable forest management in the Myanmar.
The project will run for three years from May 2017 to April 2020, and is committed to supporting the ongoing reform process in Myanmar’s forest sector with a clear focus on strengthening the national forest certification system. It is co-funded by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
As Myanmar reforms its forest sector, MFCC is working alongside PEFC and other towards delivering sustainable management of Myanmar’s forest resources in order to advance equitable and sustainable development.
Myanmar is rich in natural assets. The forests boast high biodiversity, are home to many endemic species of plants and animals and are world-renowned especially for teak.
However, forest cover has fallen from 60% to 40% in the last thirty years. A significant loss due in part to the period of military rule when forests were managed for economic return and revenue generation, with little consideration given to long-term sustainability.
There is now heightened recognition of the importance of the country’s forest resources for sustainable development. But despite the country’s rapid transition, there is still considerable progress to be made in bringing Myanmar’s forests under sustainable management where people, biodiversity and the economy can benefit.
Key aims of the project include supporting collaboration among stakeholder partners to develop test tools that aid legal, sustainable and transparent forest product trade, and also increase coordination between existing donor-funded and private sector sustainability projects. Activities support partners to collectively feed into the national certification system developments and ongoing forest sector reform processes underway at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC).
In conjunction with the project, the MFCC will lead the process to reform the national forest certification system and convene stakeholders to “build consensus on sustainable forest management requirements”.
The joint initiative is also creating a ‘knowledge platform’ and pilot certification projects will be used to demonstrate best practice. A significant amount of progress has already been completed. The MFCC Secretariat has been formed and a number of Certification Bodies (International and local) have undergone a series of intensive training. These Certification Bodies will create the foundation for building an independent third party certification system.
If you are interested in becoming involved in the project please contact MFCC. The project prospectus can also be downloaded here. You can also download a PEFC presentation on the project.
| Project Related Documents | Date |
|---|---|
| Project Brief | May 2017 |
| MFCC-PEFC Project Webinar | Feb 2018 |
| Working in Partnership to bring Sustainable Management to Myanmar’s Forest | Aug 2017 |
We have also produced a short video of some of the auditor training carried out under the project.