NEWS
Land in terms of its mandate to promote the implementation of
sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation,
restore degraded forests and substantially increases afforestation
and reforestation globally. The FSC certification scheme promotes
sustainable forest management globally is now applied to 202.240
million hectares globally.
The FSC’s contribution to Goal 1 – No Poverty entails working with
smallholders towards achieving FSC certification which will assist
them in gaining additional income and security via long-term supply
contracts, provision of reasonable ‘living wages’, training, protection
of forest workers and agreements with local communities that
guarantee their share in the benefits of forest management.
Goal 2 – Zero hunger is addressed through the FSC’s focus on
protecting biodiversity and to mitigating the effects of climate
change. Forests can complement sustainable food production
systems and if managed correctly can promote resilient agriculture
practices (Goal 15.2).
Well-managed forests support Goal 3 – Healthy lives and well-
being by supporting efforts to reduce pollution, ensuring sound
health and safety practices are in place for workers, implementing
the FSC pesticides policy ensuring social and environmental
protection, providing job-specific training, fair compensation to
workers in case of occupational diseases.
A study carried out in the Congo Basin showed significantly better
provision in FSC concessions than in neighbouring concessions
(FSC, 2019) of: safety equipment (100 per cent compared with 75
per cent), procedures to control and verify use of safety equipment
(90 per cent cf. 25 per cent), and health and life insurance for all
staff (100 per cent cf. 25 per cent).
FSC forest management requirements contribute to Goal 4 – Quality
Education through the increase of educational opportunities for
children and adults in FSC managed forest units. The Congo Basin
study that shows that, “Education opportunities in addition to
state-run services” in FSC-certified concessions scores 78 per cent
compared with 33 per cent in other concessions”. (FSC, 2019)
There are several indicators the FSC monitors within its certified
forest units, including equal pay, training opportunities, guaranteed
maternity leave, paternity leave, participation in decision-making,
eliminating sexual harassment which contribute to Goal 5 – Gender
Equality. FSC requires certified organisations to bridge the gaps
where these exist.
The FSC certifies ecosystem services within its certified areas over
and above various FSC principles that contribute to maintaining
and/or improving water quality in forests through training of forest
workers in manoeuvring machines, waste and pesticide
management, forest road construction, and watershed management
all contribute to Goal 6 – Clean water and sanitation.
Globally 2.6 billion people depend on fuelwood for their everyday
activities such as cooking, heating and sterilizing water, providing an
effective alternative to fossil fuels. FSC recognises that carbon
capture and storage is an important component of the forest
ecosystem and carbon cycle. This contributes to the achievement of
Goal 7 – Affordable and clean energy.
The new FSC Ecosystems Services Procedure (FSC, 2019) can be
used to measure and communicate the impacts of forest
management on the carbon stock, as well as of the consequences
of harvesting forest materials for bio-energy use.
promoting sustainable forest management, but also a step towards
the sustainable production of bioenergy that will help to minimize
greenhouse gas emissions. This contributes to Target 7.2, to
increase the share of renewable energy by 2030.
FSC supports the SDG targets for Goal 8 – Decent work and
economic growth, with FSC’s commitment to workers’ rights and
employment conditions. Timber is recognised as a sustainable
material and an efficient resource in terms of waste minimisation
and recyclability.
FSC is an ideal tool to promote Goal 12 – Responsible
consumption and production, through its comprehensive FSC
claims and labelling system which provides supply chain integrity
via traceability from responsibly managed forests all the way
through the production process onto the retailer shelf through its
chain-of-custody standard and certification processes.
The importance of forests in tackling Goal 13 – Climate Action,
specifically climate change cannot be overstated as carbon is
stored in both trees and forest soils. FSC gives special attention to
protecting the function of forests as net removers of CO 2 from the
atmosphere.
Responsible forest management also contributes to Goal 14 – Life
below water, as FSC requires the protection of natural
watercourses, water bodies, riparian zones and their connectivity,
and to avoid “negative impacts on water quality and quantity and to
mitigate or remedy those that occur” (FSC, 2019).
The FSC’s governance, stakeholder engagement systems and
criteria covering the enforcement of relevant laws forms the basis of
sustainable forest management, which supports Goal 16 – Peace,
justice and strong institutions.
Goal 17 – Partnership for the Goals is achieved in numerous ways
by the FSC from supporting legal and commercially viable forest
management practices that contribute to increasing national
incomes through fees and taxes, assisting in implementing
legislation that closes down markets for illegally traded timber,
domestic resource mobilisation, increasing exports from developing
countries and promoting smallholder co-operative certification.
As demonstrated by these contributions to these Sustainable
Development Goals, FSC is a significant instrument for achieving
the SDGs. Indeed, FSC is a relevant partner for all who seek to take
meaningful action to support sustainable natural resources
management and the achievement of environmental, social and
economic objectives.
REFERENCES:
1.
FSC: A Tool to Implement the Sustainable Development Goals, July 2019
ABOUT FSC
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global not-for-profit
organisation dedicated to promoting environmentally sound,
socially beneficial and economically prosperous management of
the world’s forests. As the most trusted forest management
solution, FSC was created in 1993 to help consumers and
businesses identify products from well-managed forests and sets
standards by which forests are certified, offering credible
verification to people who are buying wood and wood products.
Currently over 200 million hectares, or 16.1 per cent of all
production forests in the world - involving more than 140,000
forest managers - and 60,000 businesses are certified to FSC
standards. For more information visit www.fsc.org.
This means that FSC certification is not only a reliable tool for
www.timberiq.co.za
// APRIL / MAY 2020
7