Address by Mr. Daniel Gustafson, Representative for India and Bhutan, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Mr. Daniel expressed his views over the excellent initiatives and innovations being taken in forestry and People's Protected Areas in the state of Chhattisgarh. He said that the manner in which non-wood forest products are managed in the state are in ties with the global initiatives and the objectives of the FAO. He stated that he was pleased to attend this workshop and meet the other participants of the workshop which comprised of representatives from producers, marketing, processing, national and international colleagues who would be deliberating on the workshop.  

Address by Dr. Madhav Karki, Regional Coordinator, (MAPPA), IDRC, Canada.

Dr. Karki expressed his views on the initiatives taken by the Chhattisgarh Forest Department. He said that People's Protected Areas is a good initiative taken in the state and is receiving positive attention from around the world. Regarding the workshop, he expressed his hope to arrive at some solutions to address the issue of certification of non-wood forest produce in the state. He mentioned that certification of non-wood forest produce not only includes certification of product(s) but also the management aspects of forestry. He also emphasized the need to look into how much does the forest produce contribute to the rural income of the forest dwellers and to resolution of gender issues.   

He opined that certification is an extremely positive initiative which will improve the marketability of the non-wood forest produce but that at the same time, social, gender and rural income issues need to be addressed carefully. For this, certification of non-wood forest produce should be taken up on a pilot basis and thereby develop principles of sustainable management should be developed. 

Address by Mr. M. Satyanarayan, Deputy Inspector General (Forests), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

Mr. Satyanarayan began his address by appreciating non-wood forest management and management of forests in Chhattisgarh state with a special mention of the People's Protected Areas.  

He reiterated the need to focus on whether the state was looking for certifying the product or process or both product and process. He stated the need to integrate criteria and indicators of  the sustainable forest management with certification of such product or process.  

Mr. Satyanarayan expressed his pleasure at being present in the workshop and delight at hearing the view points of the various stakeholders. He expressed his confidence that the outcome of this workshop would provide a roadmap to the Government of India to develop insights regarding certification of non wood forest produce for taking forward the certification process in the country. He also stated that the certification for timber had already begun in this part of Asia and West Bengal has already been accredited with the membership of the Forestry Stewardship Council

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