FSC on smallholder certification
Contribution by FSC International - in 2008, the FSC International Center expanded considerably its activities related to smallholders and community-based forests.
The purpose was twofold: first, to improve the access of these stakeholders to the benefits of FSC certification, and, second, to expand the supply of FSC-certified dimension lumber and fiber from the large portion of the world’s forests that is controlled by smallholders and communities.
One part of these activities consisted of a workshop in May 2008 in Lisbon, Portugal, in which more than 60 participants analyzed the challenges and proposed a series of new activities that will be needed to achieve the goals specified above. On November 2nd and 3rd more than 100 FSC members and other participants in the General Assembly gathered to follow up on the recommendations that had emerged from the “Lisbon Process for smallholders and community forests” that the May meeting had set in motion.
The GA Side Event was divided into two sessions. The first part focused on analyses and other new work that has taken place since the Lisbon meeting. The second session focused on two principal topics: prioritizing further activities to encourage smallholder certification, and work on GA motions that could affect smallholders and community forests. The key activities for future attention that emerged from this second session include two that are underway and three that should be initiated:
a. Create a new working group to review, clarify, and propose changes in standards for Small and Low-intensity Managed Forests (SLIMFs);
b. Create a new working group on greater flexibility in approaches to group certification structures;
c. Continue to develop user-friendly information for small-holders, community-based forests, and other less-sophisticated players in the FSC system;
d. Work on providing more training and training materials for improve the capacity of group managers, group CoC operators, and auditors; and
e. Continue to pursue improved market access through linking community-based and small-scale forests to Fair Trade and other distinguishing mechanisms in the marketplace.
The final work on GA motions led to the creation of a 9-person, 3-chamber working group that will provide guidelines for immediate use in seeking modifications to proposed motions so that they respond better to the perceived needs of smallholders and community forests.
