The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and Its Contribution to Sustainable Forest Management in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia has an extensive tropical forest, which accounts for almost half of its land. This signifies not only plentiful resources but also numerous problems such as forest fires, deforestation and illegal logging. Although the government has put in place several regulations to address them, these problems persist. Effort was also taken at the international level, with the international community offering an internationallyrecognized, private certification to companies practicing sustainable forest management (SFM). Since the effort is initiated by a private agent, this certification is voluntary. The International Trade Centre (ITC, 2012) reports that there are 17 types of voluntary standards that have been implemented in many countries with many types of products certified. In forest management, so far, there have been two internationally-recognized voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) which can be obtained by any forest concession holder in Indonesia-Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). VSS, or private voluntary standards (PVS), emerged at a time when interstate negotiations on collective action for social and environmental concerns had reached a deadlock. Private actors, namely multinational corporations (MNCs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) came up with some agreement over good social and environmental practices, known as sustainability standards (Djama, 2011). In many cases, VSS are seen as a more effective way to enforce sustainable practices