Chhattisgarh Forest Department

NWFP Certification

He began with indicating some of the critical success factors:  

• The occurrence of NTFP is dispersed and collection is done by large fringe forest area population. It would be beneficial to identify few species occurring in large quantities over small areas ilike tikhur, aonla, safedmusli, kadu, chirayata etc., for which already large market exists and the JFM Committees have been handling part of the trade and are conversant with Good Management Practices (GMPs) of the produce.  

• Process certification would only be applied to specific species and for production harvested from known areas like established PPAs primarily managed for NWFP production.  

• Identify high value markets and purchasers willing to buy certified organic products, before initiating process certification.  

• Draft local and regional level certification standards with the help of all stake holders in the production to consumption chain in each species, area and region. Such stake holders include the local collector, the Primary forest produce cooperative societies, JFMCs, local knowledgeable persons such as the Kochias, vaidhyas etc., professional foresters, agricultural and horticultural scientists, ecologists, social scientists and traders. Such standards should be widely circulated to national and international experts and certification agencies for comments and then adopted.  

• Periodic evaluation of these standards.  

• It will be beneficial to have single issue labeling of forest products derived from NWFP. This is defined as "a process which results in a claim which may be used on-product referring to the quality of forest or forest management at the origin of the raw material of which the product is made. Labeling is based on certification of forest management and verification of chain of custody. (ITTO, December 1997). Labeling on this basis is described as 'single issue' because it only covers forest management and takes no account of other environmental impacts. This is internationally accepted and will help entrepreneurs to market certified herbal products.  

• As far as exports are concerned, international linkages with other certifying agencies should be developed so that our certification is accepted by end-users of those countries. This will ensure raw material exported directly through State Minor Forest Produce Federation to international pharmaceuticals and food chains using NTFPs as their basic raw material.  

Dr. Boaz concluded by stating, "If we are able to establish such a certification system, coupled with a benefit sharing mechanism, that is already in place in the state of Chhattisgarh, we will be able to put in place, a sustainable NWFP management system based on certification and benefit sharing mechanism, that is the need of the hour not only in Chhattisgarh, a fast developing densely forested tract, inhabited by a large indigenous population but also on the global level, where certification is gradually becoming the buzz word in green NWFP marketing." 

Recommendations

The first group was entrusted with evolving fair, average quality norms, which would outline standard quality methods. For this, the group members deliberated upon the Fair, Average Quality (FAQ) norms to be developed by the industries which would provide a benchmark for the producers entailing requisitions from industries for pre-determined specifications. The group therefore discussed the various FAQs for various kinds of products. They considered the importance of maintenance of a fair average quality for NWFP in the state.

 The Second group was given the topic titled "Quality Assurance through Lab testing facilities". The group discussed all probable problems which could arise during Lab testing of Minor Forest Produce to get prime price in National as well as International market.  According to them, the minor forest produce resources are scattered in vast area with geographic variation in quality. They said that there was a need for prioritizing the minor forest produce for lab testing. For this, arrangements should be made for ensuring availability of accredited laboratories where the chemical tests may be conducted upon the MFP products. This would further require ensuring acceptability of certification of the lab-testing to the purchaser so that the certification may be credible and reliable. The group also suggested that the expenditure on lab-testing is extremely high and involved fairly high costs on the part of the producer. Therefore, lab-testing facilities should be affordable in order to improve greater acceptability. The group also considered serious issues such cheating and mal-practice and suggested that a fool-proof system should be evolved to check for any irregularities at all  levels and corrective actions need to be put in place as well. It was also mentioned that existing laboratory facilities comprising infrastructure and skilled man-power will be used for getting products tested in the laboratories. Efforts will be made to build the capacity of the lab technicians as per requirement for lab testing. The certification agency can facilitate the upgradation of lab facilities it uses for mutual benefit.

The third group was given the topic to discuss on "Forest Management Issues pertaining to Certification" The group considered prioritizing the potential species according to the three agro-climatic zones of the Chhattisgarh state. They deliberated upon the need for managing the forests on a sustainable basis through operationalizing broad strategic planning through intensive macro as well as micro level planning. It was suggested that the detailed micro plans involving Forest Protection Committees or Village Forest Committees needed to be developed. The group also discussed regarding making use of existing working plans that will have to be supplemented with inventory. The group also expressed the need for strengthening the working plans. The group mentioned about involving and ensuring community participation in the management of NWFP resources involving indigenous traditional heelers and medicinal practitioners that will address the socio-cultural framework. The group emphasized on the need for enhanced role and involvement of the local communities in planning, management and monitoring. This would also result in empowering community for benefit sharing subsequently resulting into capacity building for stakeholders such as the staff and the indigenous community.

Group four discussed on "Proposed Certification Process in Forest Management in Chhattisgarh". The group discussed on several facets of the certification process and recommended that an independent and autonomous institution needed to be established to undertake certification in the state. They discussed the Institutional framework, Institutional Structure and the Functions and responsibilities of the Institution.The members arrived at a consensus to the proposition for having a local certifying agency having representatives from the Growers, Industries, Committees / MFP collectors, University/Research Organizations, Chhattisgarh State Government, Autonomous bodies and expert individuals and NGOs

More details have been provided in Annexure-C.