Status of Independent Forestry Certification Under the Forest Stewardship Council's Principles and Criteria, 1996 Pulping Conference Proceedings

Robert J. Hrubes, Ph.D.

Natural Resource Associates

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international non-government member organization committed to environmentally responsible , socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. The principal means by which the FSC pursues this goal is through independent, third-party forest management certification. To assure the authenticity of forest management certification chums, the FSC accredits those certification programs deemed to meet procedural and substantive standards of competency and independence. To be accreditable, forest management certification programs must also be compatible with the FSC’s Principles and Criteria (P&C) of Forest Management. Members of the FSC, of which there are now over 130 representmg non-government stakeholder organizations in every region of the world, have ratified ten principles and associated criteria. They cover:

1) Compliance with pertinent laws and FSC principles. 2) Tenure and use rights and responsibilities 3) Indigenous peoples’ rights. 4) Community relations and workers’ rights. 5) Benefits from the forest. 6) Environmental impacts. 7) Management planning. 8) Monitoring and assessment. 9) Maintenance of natural forests. 10) Plantations.