Footprints in the forest - Fern

3.2. Decision making structure and level of certification (region/FMU)
of European PEFC schemes operational as of May 2003
AUSTRIA
Name of the national PEFC Governing Body: PEFC Austria
Endorsed by the PEFCC in: September 2000
Number of hectares certified as of April 30 2003: 3 924 000
Decision making structure/voting with regard to standard development:
The current members of the PEFC Austria board are – according to the PEFC Austria
website – Fachverband der Holzindustrie Österreichs (association of Austrian timber
industry), Fachverband der Papierindustrie Österreichs (association of Austrian paper
industry), Bundesgremium des Holz- und Baustoffhandels Österreichs (representatives of
wood and construction material traders of Austria), Umweltdachverband UWD,
Präsidentenkonferenz der Landwirtschaftskammern Österreichs (representatives of the
agricultural sector), Hauptverband der Land- und Forstwirtschaftsbetriebe Österreichs
(federal association of farmers and forest owners), Bundeswaldbauernverband (federal
association of small forest owners), Vertreter der Gewerkschaften (trade unions) 7 .
Environmental interests are not represented on the board. PEFC Austria does however
recognises the “extraordinary importance of consensus among all participating interest
groups” 8 . According to information on the web site, every member in the National
Governing Body has one vote and decisions are only made by consensus 9 .
Regional certification and/or FMU level certification:
The Austrian PEFC scheme theoretically allows for regional certification as well as group
and individual certification at the FMU level. In practice, PEFC Austria has adopted a
regional certification system, which lead to the certification of all 9 Austrian forest
regions, representing about 200,000 forest owners by February 2002 10 .
According to a report written for the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests
in Europe in 2002, 100% of Austrian forests have been PEFC-certified 11 , while an
increasing percentage is being certified by FSC 12 (at present there are only around 3,600
ha of FSC certified forests).
The argument used by PEFC Austria to opt for regional certification rather than
individual certification is a financial one (PEFC certification costs in Austria are of
7
PEFC Austria. http://www.pefc.at. June 2003
8
Ibid
9
Ibid
10
PEFC Austria Newsletter, Vol.1 February 2002
11
Report on the Implementation of Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
(MCPFE): commitments for the fourth ministerial conference on the protection of forests in Europe –
Austria, July 2002 (page 6)
12
PEFC Austria. http://www.mcpfe.org/livingforestsummit/secure/ktools/phplib/MedienDatenbankView.inc.php?id=60
June 2003
10