Bhubaneswar: An Odisha farmer associated with the Odisha Bamboo Development Agency (OBDA) on Tuesday received one of the first PRAMAAN certificates under the Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme (IFWCS), marking a significant step towards bringing tree-based farming and agroforestry in the state into a nationally recognised certification framework.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav handed over the certificate to Govind Mohapatra at an event held in New Delhi.
The ceremony was organised by the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, which is the operating agency for the certification scheme.
The certificate was presented following a rigorous field and management audit of the plantation associated with the Odisha farmer. The certification marks the transition of IFWCS from a policy framework to field-level implementation covering both forest plantations and tree-based farming.
The event also saw PRAMAAN certification being presented to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation for plantations spread across 33,000 hectares.
Addressing the gathering, Yadav described PRAMAAN as an important instrument for Indian producers, exporters and forest-based enterprises seeking to meet emerging global regulatory requirements.
He said the framework can help provide verifiable sustainability credentials for access to markets where due diligence and responsible deforestation-free timber sourcing are increasingly important.
According to the minister, PRAMAAN is intended not only to support compliance with international requirements but also to strengthen India’s position in sustainable forest management and management of trees outside forests.
He noted that several State Forest Departments, Forest Development Corporations, farmers and industries have applied for Forest Management, Tree Outside Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification, with applications at different stages of the process.
Yadav further said PRAMAAN’s accreditation architecture has been benchmarked against international certification frameworks, enabling certificates issued under the scheme to gain recognition among domestic and global buyers and regulators.
The forest management certification under PRAMAAN is anchored in the National Working Plan Code 2023. The Forest Management certification is assessed against the Indian Forest Management Standards, which form part of the National Working Plan Code 2023.
The certification process is based on independent audits conducted by certification bodies accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies under the Quality Council of India, rather than relying solely on voluntary self-declaration.
Yadav also highlighted the livelihood dimension of the certification framework, saying that it can bring rural and tribal communities, smallholder farmers and forest-dependent communities into a structured and verifiable certification system. He said this could create new income opportunities by connecting compliant producers with premium domestic and international markets without adding to their compliance burden.
PRAMAAN, or the Programme for Recognition and Accreditation of Sustainable Management Practices for Agroforestry and Natural Forestry Resources, is a nationally accepted framework for certification of forests, wood and non-timber forest products. It seeks to strengthen links between certified forests and agroforestry products and domestic and international markets.
