Example: Forest Stewardship council

11 important questions on Example: Forest Stewardship council

What is the Forest Stewardship council?

An NGO-led multi-actor forest certification scheme that began in 1994 with over 800 members

What does the Forest Stewardship council do?

-It develops standards for sustainable forest management
-It certifies forests and products that meet these standards
-It provides the FSC-eco label

What is the rationale behind certification schemes in general?

-The idea is to make use of the market to change behavior, in the case of FSC this is addressing behavior that contributes to deforestation.
-It provides information to consumers and retailers which enables them to choose more sustainable products.
-This way there will be an increase in market demand for this more sustainable product, which makes it attractive for more companies to produce in a more sustainable manner.
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Which steps are there in creation of a certification scheme?

-Defining the key issues/terms (sustainable forest management)
-Developing criteria for assessment (sustainable forest management)
-Accreditation of third parties to certify (that forests are managed in a sustainable way)
-Auditing to assess whether criteria and indicators are complied with (after certification)
-Product (eco)labeling, stating that it meets criteria

What is the FSC definition of sustainable forest management and what was so inovative about it?

"Environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests" It was innovative due to its emphasis on all three of these aspects. Now they are considered the three pillars of sustainability, but FSC was a frontrunner in that respect.

When is forest management environmentally appropriate according to the FSC standards?

When the harvest of forest products is done while maintaining forest biodiversity, productivity and ecological processes.

When is forest management socially beneficial according to the FSC standards?

When it helps local people and society to enjoy long term profits and when it provides incentives to local people to sustain forest resources.

When is forest management economically viable according to FSC standards?

When the forest operations are structured to sufficiently profitable, without generating financial profit at the expense of forest resources, ecosystem or affected communities.

What are the 10 principles of sustainable forest management?

1. Compliance with all (national and global) laws
2. Respecting tenure and use rights
3. Respecting rights of indigenous communities
4. Social, economic well-being of forest workers and local communities
5. Efficient use of multiple forest products and services
6. Conservation of biological diversity
7. Having an appropriate management plan
8. Adequate monitoring
9. Maintenance of high conservation value forests
10. Forest plantations need to be in accordance with the previous principles.

What was interesting about the impact of FSC?

-Most certified forest was in developed countries
-Of FSC certified forest in developing countries almost 50% was plantation forest

What aspects of FSC improve its legitimacy?

Its inclusiveness:
-All three pillars of sustainability are incorporated: environmental, economic and social criteria.
-Balanced representation of the industry and NGO's and a decision making system that alows for equality between North and South.
-Multilevel decision making, so not one size fits all.

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