The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has revised its Forest Management Standard for the U.S. to provide a single version for all regions of the country.
The revised
standard harmonizes nine regional standards into one national standard
to reduce complexity and improve efficiencies in the management and
auditing process. Regional variation is maintained in key areas of
forest management and conservation where local conditions, including
forest types and ecological processes, warrant different management
techniques.
“The revised standard captures the on-the-ground practices that represent genuine forest stewardship and provide the foundation for FSC-certified forestry in the U.S." said Corey Brinkema, President of FSC-US. "The completion of this effort, coupled with accelerating adoption by American retailers and manufacturers, provides a fantastic opportunity for promoting the values of forest stewardship and FSC with the American consumer.”
The new standard retains key environmental, social, and economic
concepts from the regional standards, but improves consistency and
clarity in application. The distinguishing hallmarks of FSC
certification remain intact in the revision, including old growth
protection, restrictions on conversion and clearcuts, restrictions on
chemical use, and consultation with community groups, and protection of
indigenous people’s rights.
FSC governance and procedures for standards and policy-setting are founded on stakeholder collaboration and transparency.
“FSC is a uniquely democratic space for environmental, social and business interests to debate forest management issues,” stated Scott Paul, Director of the U.S. Forest Campaign at Greenpeace and FSC-US Board member. “FSC continues to be the gold standard for forest certification.”
The new standard comes with guidance statements that clarify the goals of the requirements and suggested tools for achieving them. These guidance statements are intended to encourage clear and consistent application of the standard.
A new feature in the revised standard is modified set of requirements that addresses challenges faced by small and low intensity managed forests. This allows for family forests (and other ownerships qualifying as small or low intensity) to be evaluated for FSC certification using a standard that takes into account the scale and intensity of small forest management operations.
The Family Forest Indicators are designed to reflect that certain FSC criteria (such as the capacity for forest management to affect local economies, larger social conditions, and large scale ecological processes) may not apply to family forests individually. Additionally, the certification procedures take into account the potential cumulative impacts of multiple family forests in close proximity on these same issues. In some cases new indicators have been developed to address conditions unique to small ownerships.
The revised standard is available for use immediately and all forests seeking FSC-certification but not currently FSC-certified will be evaluated to the revised standard. Forests that are currently FSC-certified will have until October 8, 2011 to be in compliance to the new standard.
