Following the announcement made on 05/07/2024, Eswatini is continuing with the development of a national forest certification standard. In doing so, it joins South Africa as part of a regional forest certification programme under the banner of SAFAS (Sustainable African Forest Assurance Scheme). The scheme is open to applications from countries within the SADC region, and SAFAS aims to have its regional scheme endorsed by the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification).

This marks the second period of public consultation; the first took place during June and July 2025.

The Working Group for the revision of the SAFAS Forest Management Standard invites you to participate in the process by reviewing and commenting on the Enquiry Draft Forest Management Standard

(attached).

We kindly request that you study the attached draft and provide any suggestions for improvement. Please record your comments in the template provided. All comments received will be reviewed and considered. A report explaining how each comment was addressed by the Working Group will be compiled and circulated to stakeholders.

The deadline for comments is 15 February 2026. We encourage you to submit your comments as early as possible, as this greatly assists our process.

If you have any questions about the standard or the revision process, please feel free to contact us.

Please send the completed comments template to admin@safas.org. We look forward to receiving your valuable input