IIFM Bhopal hosts India-UK workshop on forest standards, certification, and product traceability with support from government officials.
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Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, organised an India-UK knowledge exchange on ‘forest standards, certification and products traceability’, with the support of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the UK government on Wednesday.
This workshop was part of the larger piece of work proposed to be delivered through UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) on timber traceability and certification in the agroforestry sector.
The Director IIFM, K Ravichandran, presented an overview of the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS), ‘PRAMAAN’, launched by the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change on December 12, 2023. IFWCS-PRAMAAN is a national initiative by the Government towards assurance of sustainable forest management in the country with a vision to be mutually recognised by other national initiatives available globally.
He also emphasised the importance of third-party verification mechanisms in certifying forests, trees outside forests as well as wood and non-timber forest products.
The workshop deliberations focused on the UK’s journey and experience in developing and implementing forest and product certification systems, with different stakeholders and how India can leverage these learnings to strengthen its frameworks.
Speaking on the occasion, Owain Roberts, Head of Climate Change Policy, British High Commission, said: “Since 2021, we have collaborated on forest conservation through the India-UK Forest Partnership. This workshop marks an important step in our collaboration towards promoting sustainable agroforestry, as well as forest product traceability measures which benefit smallholder farmers and strengthen sustainable forest management.”
Published on July 17, 2025