Brief about NCCF

The Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests, is a registered society of experts, professionals, and stakeholders of natural resources, engaged in the development of India-specific and globally benchmarked sustainability standards, as its core working area, apart from working for policy advocacy, training and capacity building through multi-stakeholder engagement. It is a member of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Alliance from India, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Global Evergreening Alliance (GEA) and has got an Observer Status with the UNCCD as a Civil Society Organization (CSO). While NCCF’s application for accreditation with UNFCCC as a CSO is under consideration by UNFCCC, it has been given a “provisional admittance” for participation in COP 27 at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022.

NCCF has developed the first ever Indian Certification Standard for Forest Management and that has been endorsed by the leading international certification organization, the PEFC, giving it global recognition. This scheme is being used by many states for forest certification. NCCF has launched its Trees outside Forests (ToF) Certification Scheme, which is the first of its kind and is currently under the process of endorsement by PEFC. NCCF has launched Safeboards Standards for certifying the products with low formaldehyde emission levels. NCCF’s Certification standards for Ecotourism, Non- Wood Forest Resources, Quality Planting Material, and Protected Areas and Wetlands are at advanced stages of development.

The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), a constituent Board of the Quality Council of India (QCI), an autonomous national accreditation body under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has also recognized the NCCF-PEFC FM Scheme by providing accreditation to the Certification Bodies (CBs). Under an arrangement with the NABCB, NCCF is providing provisional approval to the CBs for the NCCF-PEFC FM Scheme, w. e. f. 01 August 2021, however, NABCB will continue to provide regular accreditation to the CBs.

NCCF has developed a Carbon Registry-India (CR-I) to provide a platform for carbon tracking and trading for verified net Green House Gases emissions reductions and removals enhancement with Sustainable Development Contributions. It would offer listing and tracking facilities for projects sequestering carbon and issuance of carbon credits. CR-I will also facilitate micro-scale projects and has the potential to provide a compatible platform for small landholder farmers to avail carbon credits and get linked to the carbon markets. The Registry will help in climate change mitigation and adaptation and aims to diligently follow up with India’s NDCs.

NCCF is also a consortium partner in the Trees Outside Forests in India (TOFI) Program, which is a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) of the Government of India, envisioned at significantly expanding the area of Trees outside Forests (TOF) thereby, enhancing livelihoods and ecosystem services, especially carbon sequestration. In the program, NCCF has its broad roles in steering the development and promotion of TOF and Non-timber TOF Products (NTTPs) certification schemes, a Quality Planting Material (QPM) accreditation system, co-revising building codes and procurement strategies, and amending Open General License (OGL) for the regulation of imported timber in the country.