The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a broadly-supported international body that accredits and monitors certifiers. The FSC does not conduct certifications, but rather grants certification bodies, like Silva Forest Foundation (SFF), the right to certify under the FSC logo.
SFF has been accredited by the FSC as the first FSC-accredited certifier based in Canada, and only the seventh in the world. Consequently, all SFF-certified operations are also FSC certified.
The FSC has developed a general set of Principles and Criteria for Forest Stewardship. These general Principles and Criteria are globally applicable, but are fleshed out in more detail at the regional level. In BC, regional standards are being developed, and once adopted these will outline the minimum level of performance for all FSC certifications in BC.
FSC is the certification scheme supported globally by environmental groups such as Greenpeace, demanded by buyers in Europe and the USA, and sought after by many timber companies in BC. However, in spite of the global importance of the FSC logo, until now not one hectare of forest land in BC has been FSC-certified.
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The demand for FSC-certified wood products is approaching 10% of global demand for wood products, and is growing at over 100% per year. Most of the demand is for visible, high-value items such as furniture. |
What about the CSA and ISO?
The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) programs are fundamentally different from SFF or FSC certification. The major differences are that SFF and FSC certification programs:
- Provide independent, third-party evaluation (instead of self-certification)
- Are performance-based and can therefore say something meaningful about what happens "on the ground" (instead of systems-based which can only comment on control systems)
- Allow certified operations to apply a certified label to final products
What is "Chain-of-Custody" Certification?
Through "chain-of-custody" certification, SFF tracks certified wood through various stages of transportation and processing, to the final product. This allows wood product manufacturers to place the certified mark on finished products, which in turn provides consumers with a choice in the marketplace.
The Silva Forest Foundation Certification
The Silva Forest Foundation (SFF) is a BC-based non-profit society whose directors have been involved, for over 25 years, in practising and promoting ecologically responsible forest use – or ecoforestry. As part of this work, SFF has developed an ecosystem-based certification program. SFF is a founding member and has been approved for accreditation with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
SFF has a high set of standards for timber management, and ensures that certified timber management operations are different from non-certified operations. Some of the essential differences are:
- First Nations consent Meaningful consultation between First Nations and the timber management operation is essential. Evidence of free and informed consent by local First Nations is necessary before certification can be granted.
- Full-cycle trees Trees that are permanently reserved from cutting or disturbance, in order that they can complete a full life cycle, from seed to snag to soil. Full-cycle trees are always present in a certified logged area.
- Large snags and large fallen trees These structure are critically important for wildlife shelter and maintaining on-site nutrient capital.
- Protection of ecologically sensitive sites Respecting the ecological limits of the landscape and the forest is important to ensuring ecological sustainability. A focus on what to leave, rather than on what to take, helps to determine the areas to be off-limits from logging.
- Ecologically-responsible cutting rates Determining an ecologically-responsible cutting rate (allowable annual cut – AAC) is critical to ensuring the implementation of the principles of ecoforestry. An appropriate AAC ensures that the forest remains healthy, intact, and available to contribute to the social and economic needs of future generations.
- Low-impact roads Right-of-way width for all roads in SFF certified forests is minimized and roads are fit to the terrain. As few roads as possible are constructed. Roads are engineered as permanent structures with minimal disturbance of slopes and drainage patterns.
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[From WS April/May 2000]