FSC members vote for the FSC Board of Directors who are accountable to the members. The Board of Directors have the responsibility of monitoring the work of FSC, particularly that the motions passed at the General Assembly are being put forward.
FSC International held the Second Conversion Dialogue, which took place online on November 30, 2020 at 11:00 (CET), and an identical second session at 16:00 (CET).
The following topics were covered:
Plan for further dialogue on conversion towards the upcoming FSC General Assembly (GA) in October 2021. What can you expect as decision making process?
Drivers for deforestation in regions, specifically Africa and North America
Outcomes on discussions in the Conversion Working Group (WG) and Technical Working Group (TWG) after the consultation at the beginning of November.
FSC is organizing an informational webinar (two identical sessions) for all interested stakeholders on the changes FSC proposes to introduce through the revised complaints and appeals procedure.
1.The FSC Global Strategy and its effect on boreal forests
The second draft of the Global Strategy is now out for consultation. If you go to the consultation platform, you will find some great material developed together with the Board Strategic Planning Committee (BSPC). This includes a short video with BSPC Chair, Al Thorne, explaining some of the thinking that’s gone into the second draft and a new document that explains some of the main changes from draft 1 to draft 2 and why they were made.
The discussion was concentrated on the effect of the Global Strategy for Boreal forests and allow members to discuss their inputs in the consultation process.
2.FSC and High-value forests
With the upcoming FSC General Assembly next year, we discussed how FSC addresses certification of high-value forests, such as Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs). As preparation for this discussion, we have taken steps to develop a research knowledge base and partnership. We seek the research basis for defining a way forward, allowing FSC to offer fact-based and pro-active nature-based solutions that respect the necessary protection of high-value forests in the landscape, and identify where and how FSC certified management of these forests and landscapes can be done in a responsible way, including the use of existing tools like certification of Ecosystem Services or Non-Timber Forest Products.
In this meeting, we updated members and stakeholders on plans and activities developed for high-value forests including IFLs, and sought feedback to these.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Gemma Boetekees at g.boetekees@fsc.org
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This motion is now the result of a consolidation exercise by the motions proposers/seconders, merging former Motions 37, 38, 39/ 2021.
Motion 37/2021 if passed at the GA, is the motion that will provide the mechanism to update FSC’s highest level framework (P&C’s) and position on conversion (past, present and future) and enable the updated and aligned normative framework in the FSC system, as requested by Motion 07/2017.
The aligned package of normative documents was released for consultation last Friday, 11th March, and more details are available here. We invite you to look at the explanatory documentation in this consultation package.
We have reached a significant milestone in the relationship between the FSC system and the topic of conversion. We thank those members that joined us in this important dialogue and support FSC to establish new expectations and requirements for conversion- past, present and future- through remedy and restoration, as well as a new cut-off date for excluding material from the FSC system if it originates from converted natural forests or High Conservation Value areas.
We hosted two identical sessions to accommodate different time zones.
We have a selection of materials and multimedia resources related to your FSC membership in preparation for the GA 2022. Please contact your Membership Regional Coordinator for more information.
This webinar presented the board’s work to implement Motion 63 from 2017, including the efforts to develop a revised Network Policy and Procedure. In the webinar, members got an update on the process for this work, including the upcoming public consultation. The webinar was also relevant for the current motions related to Network Development.
Watch the recording here: English | Spanish (will be available soon)
FSC encourage all stakeholders to comment on the first draft of FSC Conversion Remedy Procedure (FSC-PRO-01-007 V1-0 D1-0). The deadline to participate is 30 June 2020.
The second draft of the FSC Policy on Conversion (FSC-POL-01-007 V1-0 D2-0) is now available for a public consultation until 16 February 2020 and can be accessed here.
FSC has opened registration to participate in the revision of the FSC general accreditation standard and related procedures through a focused consultation and expert working group.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has accepted the Policy for Association complaint Mighty Earth submitted against two organizations belonging to the Alas Kusuma group in Indonesia.
FSC is seeking candidates for the role of ‘FSC Regional Membership Coordinators’ to support us in the preparation process for the upcoming General Assembly; this includes keeping members informed, supporting/facilitating the motions development and discussion process and galvanizing cross-chamber dialogue.
FSC is seeking candidates for a technical working group to develop a new international procedure on the continuous improvement concept. The call for applications is open from 17 December 2019 to 17 January 2020.
FSC has extended the consultation period regarding the first draft of its Asia-Pacific Regional Forest Stewardship Standard for Smallholders (RFSS) until 15 July 2020.
FSC International, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), the University of Liège and Biotope are interested to hear your perspectives and opinions on their collaboration plan for a global discussion on High Value Forests.
Bukut Muria Jaya – a subsidiary of the Djarum Group - withdrew its FSC certificate and that has ended the association between FSC and the Djarum Group.
The objective of this standard is to provide the requirements for FSC-accredited certification bodies to assess conformity of The Organization against applicable requirements of the FSC normative
framework with regards to forest management certification, as well as reporting and decision making.
To access the older version 3-0 effective only until December 31, 2025, click here .
Completed NRA for Chile.This document is an assessment of the risk of sourcing material from unacceptable sources in a given country, developed according to FSC-PRO-60-002 V3-0 EN The Development and Approval of FSC National Risk Assessments.This risk assessment shall be used when implementing FSC-STD-40-005 V3-1 EN Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood.Please Note: Certificate holders have until 04 September 2020 to adapt their due diligence system to include the changes brought about by FSC-NRA-CL V1-0. The CNRA will remain available for download until that date. ++ Click here to submit a change request for this FSC risk assessment ++
The objective of this document is to specify the requirements for FSC-accredited certification bodies for developing Interim National Standard (INS) or Interim Regional Standard (IRS), depending on the geographic scope of the standard, for the certification of responsible forest management and the responsible management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) at the Management Unit (MU) level. These standards shall be based on the International Generic Indicators (IGI) and shall address the regional, national or sub-national conditions in which they are to be used and shall consider input from local stakeholders. The FSC Board of Directors at FSC International, acting through the Policy Steering Group (PSG) shall approve Interim National Standards (INS) before they can be used for FSC certification purposes. In March 2020 the revised procedure was published to reflect the FSC Board of Directors’ decision during their 82nd meeting to delegate the approval of INS to the Policy Steering Group.