FSC UK Forest Matters May 2017 Public Edition by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) UK

Forest Matters May 2017

Director’s Overview Contents Dear Reader, 3

News in Brief

FSC in India

FSC Membership

Get to Know... FSC Brazil

World Tree Story

Product Focus

FSC Training

Woodpecker Flooring

16 Scottish Woodlands 19

Forestry Standard Approved

Smallholder Survey

Just for Fun and FSC in Numbers

I write to you feeling refreshed and uplifted following our staff outing last week. We were lucky enough to be hosted at the beautiful, FSC® certified Glanusk Estate in our home county of Powys. A day in the woods with good food and great company works wonders for the soul! This month we celebrate the long-anticipated conditional approval of the UK National Forest Stewardship Standard, against which FSC certified forests in the UK are assessed. It’s been a long road but I believe it will result in a standard that is better for UK forests (see p.19). So, what more could we ask for than happy staff and happy forests? Happy certificate holders of course! We were overwhelmed by the positive response to the first of our regional meetings, held last month in Telford, and look forward to meeting more stakeholders at a location near you in the future. Do let us know if there are particular topics you would like us to address. This edition is packed with case studies and guest features so sit back, relax and smell the bluebells!

Rosie Teasdale Executive Director, FSC UK

News in Brief Thank You Sainsbury’s Customers! Sainsbury’s customers collected 98.8 tonnes of Christmas cards for recycling. Sainsbury’s have donated £8,695.91 to FSC UK. Thank you!

GA 2017 Early Bird Discount Don’t miss out on the FSC General Assembly early bird discount! Find out more here. Apply before 15 May.

p16

UK Stakeholder Event A successful stakeholder event for UK certificate holders was held on 27 April in Telford. Look out for more regional events later this year!

Better Together? Scottish Woodlands, the first commercial forest management company in the UK to offer an FSC certified group scheme, share their experiences of FSC group certification.

Controlled Wood Consultation Now Open! FSC is holding an open consultation on Controlled Wood strategy following the recent Controlled Wood Global Strategy Workshop. The consultation is open until 11 June. To participate, please register here.

Image credits: © Sainsbury’s, © FSC UK, © Scottish Woodlands.

Safeguarding the Environment Smallholders in Tamil Nadu, Southern India are seeing the benefits of plantation forestry and FSC certification as part of the Tamil Nadu Newsprint & Papers Ltd farm forestry programme.

FSC in India

Safeguarding the Environment Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited (TNPL) (FSCÂŽC058903 / FSCÂŽC109268) manufactures paper from farm waste (bagasse), waste paper, and wood pulp obtained from eucalyptus and casuarina trees grown on TNPL-managed forest plantations. TNPL produces 400,000 tonnes of printing and writing paper per year. FSC and TNPL TNPL has obtained group Forest Management and Chain of Custody certification for its farm forestry programme, which covers 2,914 hectares in Tamil Nadu and involves many smallholders farmers who would be unable to obtain certification on their own.

Group certification brings many benefits The farmers are enthusiastic about the positive benefits that FSC group certification has brought. Ganeshan is a farmer who owns just one hectare of land. He was finding it difficult to make ends meet. By partnering with TNPL,

he can now expect a decent income at harvest time: “When my plantation is ready for harvest I will get Rs 2900 per tonne.” He expects to harvest 20 tonnes of wood. FSC certification has also made Ganeshan more aware of safe workplace practices, the importance of conserving water bodies, tree and plant species, and avoiding the use of chemicals.

High-value conservation leads to environmental and economic stability Amjad Ali owns 17 acres of land in Gandharvakottai village. In the past he cultivated food crops on his land but encountered many challenges. He says,

“Farming was becoming

increasingly difficult as we faced labour and water shortages. I decided to convert my farm into a plantation. I now grow eucalyptus and casuarina and have a sustainable source of income.” He also has a 150 year-old banyan tree on his land. In its shade is a black stone, considered sacred and worshipped by people from as far as 100 km away. Respecting their beliefs, Amjad and his family have kept the stone safe for over three generations. FSC has further ensured the safety of this tree and sacred stone by bringing it under the high-value conservation principle.

Best practices in conservation create end-to-end benefits FSC certification has mandated the preservation of existing programmes which promote good nutrition and safe drinking water on plantation lands. Take the small farmstead on the fringes of Alankkadu village for example: while much of the land is taken up by the plantation, the farm has enough land left over for food crops, fruit trees and livestock to ensure the food security of the farmer. Chintamani, the matriarch of the family, points to the paddy, the guava and the lime tree and her goats and cows, proudly explaining that food for her family is assured from the livestock and crops on their farm, while income for other needs comes from the plantation. While these plantation activities look very far removed from the core activity of TNPL – the manufacturing of paper – they are closely related, since a business cannot be sustainable without taking both the environment and the community into account. TNPL’s objectives are to source sustainable material and conduct business that is both responsible and accountable to the environment and the social well-being of the people it engages. By strictly adhering to FSC principles, they have achieved these goals.

Video To meet the smallholders in Tamil Nadu who work together to create a greener future, click here. This article was originally published in the FSC International Newsroom

Similarly, natural water bodies, pre-existing valuable tree species and other natural resources are preserved on all plantations both in the captive plantations and the farmed forestry lands. This has led to environmental stability through the protection of groundwater and soil and the avoidance of chemical pesticides.

Image credits: © FSC India / Jasvinder Sehgal

Membership

Interested in Becoming a Member of FSC? Do you want to have a real influence on the future of the world’s forests? Could you help shape the future of responsible forest management? Would you like to have a say in the development of standards, policies and procedures for the certification of products from well-managed forests? What is FSC membership? FSC is a democratic organisation that is governed by its members. FSC brings together, amongst others, environmental and social NGOs, timber traders, forestry and indigenous peoples’ organisations, retailers, manufacturers and interested individuals. Members apply to join one of three chambers: environmental, social or economic, which are further sub-divided into northern and southern sub-chambers. Voting is weighted to ensure that each chamber and sub-chamber gets an equal say. This guarantees that influence is shared equitably between different interest groups and levels of economic power.

Our members contribute directly to upholding a system which ensures that the harvest of forest products is balanced with maintaining the biodiversity, productivity and ecological stability of forests, and that local people get a fair share of the benefits.

Why become a member? •

Decision making Help shape the future of responsible forest management.

•

Networking Become part of a vibrant international group of individuals and organisations who are taking action to improve the state of forest management around the world. Membership offers you the opportunity to build connections and strengthen your networks.

•

Access to information

Below: Members at the 2014 General Assembly

Keep up-to-date with current issues in certification and forestry.

•

Demonstrating commitment FSC membership shows your commitment to improving the management of the world’s forests. It demonstrates that you believe in achieving the highest environmental and social standards in forestry.

Membership or certification? FSC membership is separate to FSC certification. In order to make or label FSC certified products you would need to hold FSC certification. FSC membership is not mandatory for FSC certified companies or license holders.

Board of Directors The FSC Board of Directors is accountable to the FSC members. It is made up of twelve elected representatives, with four elected from each of the chambers for a four year term. The Board of Directors may also establish a number of committees to assist with both operational and management tasks, on which both members and outside experts may be invited to serve.

The General Assembly

FSC UK Annual Members’ Meeting

The FSC General Assembly is FSC’s highest decision-making body. Every three years, members come together to discuss a sustainable future for the world’s forests and the people and animals who inhabit them.

Members based in the UK are invited to the FSC UK Annual Members’ Meeting, which provides an opportunity to discuss relevant topics and connect with other UK Members and FSC UK staff.

All FSC members are invited to attend and vote at the FSC General Assembly as well as to formulate and submit motions. It is in this dynamic environment where valuable concerns and constructive criticism are brought into a forum; different stakeholders work together in an equitable way to make important strategic decisions that define the future of FSC.

Consultation Members can apply to be part of a Working Group on a specific issue (e.g. plantations, pesticides etc.) and are regularly consulted during the review processes of our standards and policies.

The application process: The GA 2017! The 8 FSC General Assembly will be held in Vancouver, Canada, from 8–13 October 2017. th

FSC encourages all its members and stakeholders, from the global North and South, to participate. Further information

Choose to become an individual or an organisational member. Apply online at www.uk.fsc.org/membership After you submit your application, the international membership committee will decide on the approval of your application. Once your application is approved, you immediately have full rights and obligations. Fees: The fee structure is based on either the organisation’s number of employees or its turnover. For downloadable information on membership fees please visit the above link.

For further information, you can visit the FSC General Assembly 2017 website. For specific information, please contact g.garza@fsc.org.

Image credits: © FSC IC

Get to Know...

FSC Brazil Has Its Sights Set High Hello everyone! We are FSC Brazil! Our office is located in São Paulo, the largest metropolis in Latin America and one of the biggest in the world. Our team is formed of nine collaborators and one intern.

e work to disseminate and facilitate good forest management in Brazil, to represent the FSC system in the country (and our country in the global system), to be a reference of good forest management and to foster the responsible consumption of certified products; boosting the national offer and demand. Our strategic plan for 2020 integrates the international issues with the main potentialities and threats of the Brazilian reality, in the context of the common project of strengthening responsible forest management. Our goals show FSC Brazil’s main focus areas for the coming years:

• Expand the recognition of the FSC brand and concept, throughout all links of the forest supply chain up to the consumers • Strengthen FSC certification in the Amazon Rainforest • Promote effective and chamber-balanced participation • Ensure empowerment of the national office, enabling it to act in an integrated and autonomous way alongside the FSC network • Strengthen smallholders and community certification

“Forests For All Forever” communication campaign 2017 is a very important year for us! It is when our communication campaign aimed at consumers will be broadcast on television and the Internet. The campaign’s goal is to increase the knowledge and recognition of the FSC brand in Brazil, and inform consumers about the social and environmental benefits of certification. The awareness campaign aims to promote the responsible consumption of forest products as a mechanism to conserve Brazilian forests and improve workers’ and traditional communities’ quality of life. In 2016, to celebrate FSC Friday, FSC Brazil launched its first advertising campaign in 3 metro stations. Check it out here.

Projects and activities FSC Brazil are currently working on: • Constructing the New National Forest Management Standards for Brazil • Engaging members to participate in the FSC International General Assembly • Assessing the Amazon region with the aim of promoting the certification of native forests • A market diagnosis structure to enable them to map funds and policies supportive to certification • A new version of the National Risk Assessment Brazil, incorporating Controlled Wood • Promoting FSC in the press and institutional media and communication

Smallholders and communities in the Amazon achieve FSC certification

• Participating in lectures and events relating to the forestry sector

In December 2016, we saw two beautiful examples of non-timber products certification of smallholders and communities, with Associação Soenama do Povo Indígena Paiter Suruí, which produces babassu oil and coal, crafts, mesocarp flour and non-processed nuts, and Associação das Comunidades Tradicionais do Bailique (ACTB), an archipelago 160 kilometers away from Macapá, capital of the State of Amapá, and owner of the only FSC certified açaí plantation in the world!

• Articulating the voice of key account partners in the development of work plans Image credits: © Foto Equipe; © Coomflona

Team Photo By alphabetical order, from left to right: 1st line: Alessandra Ferros (Business Development Analyst) Aline Tristão Bernardes (Executive Director) Andrea Werneburg (Technical Analyst) Fernanda Rodrigues (Technical Coordinator) Fernanda Vaz (Business Development Analyst) 2nd line: Flavia Ribeiro Ferros (Communication Coordinator) Lourival dos Santos Souza (Administrative and Financial Analyst) Murilo Furtado (Intern) Natália Moura (Communication Analyst) Waldeysa Trevisan (Administrative Assistant) 9

Guest Feature

By Julian Hight, author of Britain’s Tree Story and World Tree Story.

World Tree Story: History and Legends of the World’s Ancient Trees Forest management is nothing new; humankind has been harvesting wood from trees and picking their fruit for thousands of years. Recently, an oak stump carbon dated to 2,500 BCE showed clear signs of pollarding – the practice whereby a tree’s branches are cut every 8 to 20 years above head height to prevent grazing animals devouring regrowth.

ot only does pollarding provide a sustainable source of timber, it also ‘fools’ the trees into thinking they are younger than they are, promotes regrowth, and is partly responsible for supporting the longevity of ancient trees.

Britain has the least amount of woodland cover in northern Europe, but is blessed with the highest number of ancient trees. Thousand year oaks stand in remnant wood pastures, vestiges of a once thriving and now deeply declining worked tree-scape, where trees had time and space to reach giant proportions, some of which date back to the Norman conquest and beyond. Growing up on a housing estate in Surrey, I was lucky enough to have eight acres of woodland behind my garden. As kids, rather than play in the street, we played in the woods; climbing trees, building camps and staging pitched fir-comb fights. It instilled in me an appreciation and love of nature and trees in particular. Not far away stood the old dodders of Windsor Great Park – scores of millennial oaks; gnarly, hollow and twisted – living links to history. As a young boy those trees fired my imagination - what must they had witnessed and what stories could they tell? Then, about a decade ago I stumbled across a Victorian photograph of Sherwood Forest’s Major Oak – arguably Britain’s most famous tree. I had visited it as a child on a school

Image credits: © Julian Hight

trip thirty years previously, and remembered its connection to tales of Robin Hood and the sheer awe and wonder I felt standing beside its huge, cavernous trunk. I revisited and photographed the Major Oak in its present state, and was immediately struck by the fact that in the century between the two photographs, there was almost unperceivable change in its shape, size and character, lending credence to estimates of its great longevity, currently thought to be between 600 and 1,000 years old. That one photograph inspired me to travel Britain to seek out our largest and oldest trees and their stories, a project that after five years became the book Britain’s Tree Story, published by National Trust in 2011. Since then, my passion for ancient trees has taken me around the world on a photographic odyssey to capture 100 magnificent trees in 39 countries and record their stories and connected culture in a companion volume: World Tree Story – history and legends of the world’s ancient trees. Starting in Britain, with majestic ancient trees such as the 12.2 metre girthed hollow ancient oak known as Majesty, in Kent (pictured on front cover), my travels took me across Europe and Scandinavia, through a changing tree-scape in the Mediterranean to visit tri-millennial ancient olives such as Elia Vouvon in Crete (below right) – still producing harvestable fruit after two millennia or more. I headed on to the middle east, then to America which hosts the biggest, tallest and oldest known trees in the world, through Asia and Australasia and finally to Japan, where I had the great pleasure of photographing Yamataka Jindaizakura – the country’s oldest Cherry (above right), thought to be 2,000 years old, and in full bloom on my visit, propped at every turn, hollow and gnarled – reminiscent of our ancient British oaks. I reached the tree after five train journeys into the mountainous interior of the Southern Alps on the island of Honsho.

(FSC®C005748). I had hoped to have the book printed in my hometown of Frome in Somerset, by local book company Butler and Tanner, book printers since 1845, to keep the local connection strong. Unfortunately the company folded in 2014, unable to compete with challenging market conditions. Disappointing as that was, my primary concern was to ensure that the book was produced using FSC certified materials. Printing on paper sourced from responsibly managed forests was fundamental to a project primarily concerned with the conservation and promotion of ancient trees, and the FSC system enabled me to follow that prerequisite through with minimal effort. For my next project, I intend to follow the FSC chain of custody trail right back to the forest source, visiting the very forests that produced the pages that will tell their story! Signed copies of World Tree Story are available to order direct from the author at: www.worldtreestory.co.uk

As a graphic designer in publishing for many years, I took the decision to self-publish World Tree Story using the FSC certified printer Imago Holdings Ltd 11

Product Focus

Bamboo Tissue - It’s Okay to be Sneezed At Spring is in the air which means its hay fever season for many. While some love the changing of the seasons and the forthcoming summer, for some it’s a reason to reach for the tissue. Tissue paper has traditionally been tree-based, but now The Cheeky Panda have created Bamboo Tissue. Cheeky Panda FSC Licence Code: FSC®C007915 Product: FSC Certified Bamboo Tissue

“The Bamboo Tissue is 100% FSC certified and as bamboo fibre is longer than traditional tree fibre, its stronger! That means you can give it a good hard sneeze and it will stay intact.”

The Cheeky Panda Bamboo is Carbon Balanced with The World Land Trust, and for every pack that’s bought, a percentage of the revenue goes to paying the salaries of the rangers protecting Vietnamese rainforests. It also looks good too! It’s available as a 3ply 80 sheet long box or a 56 sheet cube box. This is a brand-new product in the market, and complements the Amazon Launchpad best seller - The Cheeky Panda Toilet Tissue. The Cheeky Panda is quickly building a big fan base for its low carbon, ultra-sustainable and high quality approach to the market. Despite only being founded in 2016 it has been nominated for 10 awards in less than 12 months and is in over 100 retail stores and with many big name Janitorial Suppliers. It’s a real success story in how alternative sources can also be high quality. For more information go to www.thecheekypanda.co.uk

Image credits: © Cheeky Panda

Training

FSC Training FSC UK offers online and bespoke, face-to-face training courses to introduce and explain the FSC system and how it relates to your area of business. Our courses are suitable for anyone who needs a thorough understanding of the FSC system. Online Chain of Custody Training

Bespoke, Face-to-Face Training

Designed to provide organisations with the opportunity to easily access and learn about FSC Chain of Custody certification, this training can be used as a stand-alone module or in preparation for more in-depth face-to-face training. It can also bring further benefits to your organisation such as increasing staff knowledge and improving engagement with suppliers. Here are the elements that we cover:

A bespoke training course for up to 12 participants (more by arrangement) can be run at your premises and costs £850 + VAT. Here are the elements that we cover:

• The 3 FSC labels and what they mean

• Chain of Custody - what it is and how it works

• The requirements of the FSC Chain of Custody Standard • How to check that companies and their products are FSC certified • The three systems for controlling the content of FSC products • FSC Controlled Wood

Online training from FSC UK is currently FREE for all FSC Certificate Holders in the UK. For organisations that do not have FSC certification, this training can be accessed for a fee of £130 + VAT for 3 months or £50 for one month.

• Why responsible sourcing of forest products is important • What is FSC? • FSC Principles & Criteria

• Checking suppliers’ certification, invoices and delivery notes • The 3 FSC labels • The EU Timber Regulation and FSC • Recycled / reclaimed material and controlled wood • Using the FSC trademarks • What FSC UK can do for you Courses tend to focus on the main themes of FSC Chain of Custody and FSC trademark use, but we will always try to meet your requirements.

Course on Version 3-0 of the FSC Chain of Custody now available online!

For more information, access to the online training portal or to book a face-to-face course, contact the FSC UK Business Team at training@fsc-uk.org. 13

Case Study

Naturally Inspired, Beautifully Sustainable Woodpecker Flooring (FSC®C111296) make it their responsibility to source timber with care and bring ethical wood floors to the homes of their customers. With a heritage in the timber industry going back three generations, Woodpecker Flooring is very much a family business. The company was founded in 1975 by Bruce Ker, a skilled craftsman who loved teaching people how to work with wood. His son Nelson carried on the tradition, focusing the business on woodworking machinery. In 2003, Nelson’s huge reserve of woodworking and mechanical experience was applied to manufacturing high quality flooring. Understanding the different tree species, honing the grading process, and using centuries old techniques to expertly finish every floor, are the skills Woodpecker has worked hard to perfect over the years. Passionate about the personality, life and atmosphere that wood flooring brings to

spaces, the business has grown from its very first small factory to manufacturing in thirteen facilities around the globe today. Woodpecker has partnerships with more than 1000 flooring retailers, department stores and builders merchants, and their floors are found in the homes of customers seeking a naturally beautiful look all around the UK.

Certification for sustainable partnerships Conscious of their environmental responsibility as a business and aware of the increasing demand for ethical products, Woodpecker made the decision to become FSC certified in 2012. Today’s consumer is curious about the journey behind the products they purchase. And flooring retailers are conscious of this too. The whole industry has experienced a shift in attitudes with suppliers chosen carefully to meet the needs of today’s market. Indeed, FSC certification is mandatory to become a supplier for some of Woodpecker’s biggest customers. A shared responsible view has allowed Woodpecker to grow partnerships in areas that competitors could not, and has sustained Woodpecker’s relationships throughout their customer base.

“By making it our responsibility

to source our timber with care, we can be confident that we’re bringing beautiful and ethical wood floors to our customers and into the homes of theirs.”

Image credits: © Woodpecker Flooring

A naturally inspired brand Following a re-brand in 2016, certification has become even more naturally aligned with Woodpecker’s business goals. The brand endorses the idea that a wood floor can remind you of times spent outdoors in the natural environment, walking barefoot with the feel of the forest underfoot and the fresh scents of nature in the air. Certification enables Woodpecker to take care of the natural environments that inspire the design of their products and create desire for wood floors. With the help of FSC, Woodpecker are looking after the natural spaces that underpin their brand.

“Our wood floors are inspired by

beautiful, natural environments and our customers aspire to bring this sense of nature into their homes. We chose FSC certification to make sure our natural outdoors always stay beautiful and remain a source of inspiration.”

Company-wide commitment When Woodpecker decided to become certified, the goal was to ensure their complete wood flooring collection would be FSC. That’s more than 80 products that the company take care to source responsibly. Woodpecker’s laminate floors are certified by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forests Certification (PEFC).

“The FSC experience helps

Woodpecker to gain staff buy-in for our brand and business goals.”

A little advice… For SMEs looking to become certified, Woodpecker would recommend using an Accredited Certification Body to guide them through and keep them up to date with any changes. When working to gain or retain certification, attention to detail is key - there are no short cuts for businesses that are serious about ensuring their products are ethical and responsibly sourced. You can find a list of UK certification bodies on the FSC UK website here. Woodpecker’s collection of FSC certified wood floors is available to browse at www.woodpeckerflooring.co.uk. You can also keep up to date with them on Twitter @wearewoodpecker.

Woodpecker see the value of FSC in further areas of their business too. As the certification process is so thorough, care and attention is required from the whole team. Everyone has their part to play in ensuring successful certification. And although staff training can be one of the biggest challenges, it’s also one of the most effective ways to change attitudes about sustainability company-wide.

Forestry

Better Together?

By Stuart Wilkie, Certification and Environment Manager, Scottish Woodlands Ltd

Scottish Woodlands Ltd (FSC®C020901 / FSC®C102311) was the first commercial forest management company in the UK to offer an FSC certified group scheme back in 1999. Since then, the scheme has grown to cover over 100,000 hectares. Scottish Woodlands Ltd has more than 140 staff, with around half of them being shareholders. The company is headquartered in Edinburgh, and has offices across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This year, the company marked its 50th birthday as an incorporated entity by publishing a commemorative book, planting a celebration woodland and increasing its profits by 20 per cent. The book, The Wood and the Trees: A History of Scottish Woodlands Ltd and its People, tells the story of the company, which is unique in the sector as it is 80 per cent owned by its employees. The celebration woodland was planted on ground at Crieff Hydro in Perthshire, celebrating a longstanding collaboration between woodland owner (client) and forest manager. Ralland Browne, Managing Director of Scottish Woodlands Ltd noted in the book that “there have been ups and downs over the last 50

years, but the company and the wider forestry and wood-processing industry are both in good health in 2017. We are optimistic for the future, with a strong focus on driving up tree planting rates.” Increasing the rate of tree planting will help the UK to use more of its homegrown product in years to come.

The importance of FSC certification FSC certification is important to Scottish Woodlands for a variety of reasons. Economically, certification is driven by customer demand and out of the one million tonnes of timber harvested annually by the company, 77% is FSC certified and the remainder can be assessed as FSC controlled wood under the UK’s low risk designation. The company would not be able to sell that quantity of timber without FSC forest management and chain of custody certification. In environmental terms, forest certification underpins timber as the ultimate low-carbon renewable resource. On a fragile planet with a growing population, where all people deserve a good quality of life, we need stable productive ecosystems. FSC certification helps Scottish Woodlands’ forest managers to manage woodlands and plantations in a responsible way. When trees are harvested, the carbon in the timber is locked up as a harvested wood product, e.g. construction materials or furniture. The next crop (rotation) of trees is planted in accordance with FSC standards, and, besides a timber crop, creates other public benefits such as increased biodiversity, enhanced landscapes and recreational activities. Socially, FSC certification has helped to initiate improved health and safety standards Image credits: © Scottish Woodlands Ltd

across the industry. Scottish Woodlands was a founding signatory of the Forest Industry Safety Accord in 2012 which, along with stakeholders across the sector, aims to reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the industry. Scottish Woodlands is actively involved in the Accord, with representation on the Steering Group as well as some of the working groups.

Group certification The ISO 9001 / 14001 certification achieved by Scottish Woodlands in the 1990s enabled the company to create some of the systems necessary to support forest certification, while UK forestry already had many of the controls in place required to meet the certification standard. These two factors helped Scottish Woodlands to become the first forest management company in the UK to offer FSC Group Certification to woodland owners. However, at the time, the FSC Group Certification scheme was a bit of a leap of faith as many in the industry did not see the need for forest certification in the UK.

take the full range of management services which are offered by Scottish Woodlands. For owners of smaller woodlands in particular, the benefits of certification become marginal, as the costs required to support them are not always recovered by additional timber revenues they receive from certified wood. An auditing approach focussing on how the group scheme is managed rather than on individual non-conformances would help improve this.

Advice Advice to any forest owners / managers who are interested in, or seeking, FSC certification would be to employ a reputable forest management company and to join that company’s Group Scheme. The owner will benefit from guidance and management of their woodlands by professional forest managers who should be aware of the current Standard and best practice.

www.scottishwoodlands.co.uk

Since the original certificate was awarded in 1999, the company’s Group Certification scheme has continued to evolve along with the subsequent revisions of the UK Woodland Assurance Standard (UKWAS). The UK will soon be onto the fourth iteration of UKWAS, the national certification standard used by FSC. The main challenges in relation to FSC requirements and running a Group Scheme revolve around a dilemma between credibility and accessibility. The company is the gate keeper to the credibility of the FSC label yet the company wants to make forest certification accessible to as diverse a range of woodland owners as possible. It seems that the more forests the company brings into its Group Scheme, the more audit trails are opened up and the harder it is to maintain the company’s certification. Every additional Group Scheme Member is a potential new risk and this makes it difficult to provide certification to owners if they do not also 17

WOULD YOU LIKE TO FEATURE IN FOREST

MATTERS? Are you an FSC certificate or licence holder in the UK? If so, you can feature your case study, article or product focus in Forest Matters - and it’s FREE! Take advantage of this valuable opportunity to let our readers know about your business, and how holding a certificate or licence benefits both you and the world’s forests!

Basic Guidelines: • Case study or relevant feature: 600 - 800 words and 3 photos • Product Focus: 300 words plus 2 photos

For more information and detailed guidelines, contact us on 01686 413 916 or email info@fsc-uk.org

Forestry

UK National Forest Stewardship Standard Conditionally Approved The revised draft of the FSC national forest stewardship standard for the UK has received conditional approval from FSC International’s Policy and Standards Committee (PSC). The standard, familiar to many forest managers as the UK Woodland Assurance Standard or UKWAS, has undergone a thorough revision process which began in 2013. A draft submitted to FSC International last year was not approved, and underwent further revision before being resubmitted in February this year. This revised draft was conditionally approved following a meeting of the PSC in early April. “This is terrific news,” says FSC UK Forest Standards Manager Dr Owen Davies:

“This positive decision from the PSC

has been made possible by the hard work and commitment of the UKWAS Steering Group, whose members responded so constructively to FSC feedback on the previous draft. There are still challenges to overcome, but I’m confident that, with continuing constructive collaboration between FSC UK, FSC International and the UKWAS Steering Group, the outstanding conditions can be resolved.” In terms of the contents of the standard, the main condition set by the PSC is that general references to compliance with the law, such as health and safety or workers’ rights legislation, must be replaced with readily auditable, outcome-oriented requirements. The PSC has also stipulated that changes be made to the UK standard development group before

the next revision of the standard, to ensure representation of economic, environmental and social interests is chamber-balanced in accordance with FSC requirements. The conditional approval of the standard means that there is no further requirement for it to be considered by the PSC. All subsequent discussions about the contents of the standard will be with FSC Policy and Standards Unit (PSU) staff in Bonn, who will have the final say over when conditions have been met. FSC UK will continue to work closely with PSU and the UKWAS Steering Group to find pragmatic solutions and deliver a workable standard for the UK. UKWAS Steering Group chair, Peter Wilson, says “The revision exercise has been a long haul but the completion of our work is in sight and the steering group will meet shortly to work on closing out the remaining concerns raised by FSC. The revision process has been thorough and radical and, once these conditions are met, we hope that users will find the updated version to be more logical in its approach and much easier to use than earlier versions. Praise is due to steering group members for their tenacity and the dedication they have brought to the task of revising and improving the UKWAS”. If you have any questions about the standard development and approval process, please contact Owen at owen@fsc-uk.org.

Survey

UK Smallholders Give Their Views Limited uptake of FSC forest management certification by owners and managers of smaller woodlands has long been recognised as an issue, not just in the UK but around the world. Internationally, FSC continues to seek to understand and explore ways of overcoming the barriers to small woodland certification.

ast year FSC UK carried out a small survey in partnership with Coed Cymru, Farming Connect, Llais y Goedwig, the Small Woods Association and Woodland Trust Wales. Responses were collected from attendees at the PAWS workshop held in south Shropshire in July and via an online survey. A total of 42 responses were gathered; 22 respondents had woodlands primarily in Wales, 17 had woodlands primarily in England, and two had woodlands in both countries. Respondents owned or managed between one and 15 woods, with a median of one and a mean of two. The mean area of individual woodlands owned or managed by each respondent ranged from 0.4 to 107.9 hectares, with a median of 4.2 ha and a mean of 12.1 ha.

Forest management objectives Respondents were asked to rate a number of objectives of woodland ownership or management from one (least important) to five (most important). The mean scores, in order from the most important to least important, are shown in the chart (above- right).

Assurance, advice and support Survey respondents were asked whether they were confident that their woodlands were well managed. Those who had doubts about their management cited issues such as lack of knowledge, lack of local support, and lack of financial support or income from the wood. Of those who were not confident that their woods were being well managed, half said that they would like to have independent assurance that they were managing their woods responsibly.

FSC certification Four respondents confirmed that they held FSC certification. Interestingly, the certified woods were not necessarily the largest, and

the sale of wood or wood products was not necessarily the foremost objective of their owners/managers. The owners/managers of those whose woods that were not currently certified were asked what would attract them to certification, some clearly saw certification in terms of economic benefits, but overall few thought it advantageous.

Farm woodlands Farmers’ (4 respondents) objectives varied slightly from the overall pattern. Wood production for personal use overtook wildlife benefits as the most important objective. Personal recreation and other tangible benefits were lower down the list of priorities than for all respondents combined. One farmer held FSC forest management certification; of the remaining three, two said that they would need to see greater simplification, reduced costs or greater benefits to customers before considering certification, while the third questioned whether there were any benefits to certification and was wary of “additional red tape”.

Conclusion It is important not to draw sweeping conclusions from such a small sample, especially for farm woodlands, but there are nevertheless some interesting patterns to be seen here. It is encouraging that the results regarding objectives are in line with those from the 2015 British Woodlands Survey, which hopefully means that they are reasonably representative. Wildlife benefits were clearly the most important drivers for woodland ownership and management, followed by personal recreation and production of wood for personal use. Given the predominance of non-market benefits among the highest scoring objectives, it is perhaps not surprising that relatively few small woodland owners see the relevance of certification; the sale of wood and the production and sale of non-wood forest products were the lowest scoring objectives. However, it is interesting to note that the main objectives of the four respondents who already had forest management certification were quite

broad and only one was interested primarily in the sale of wood or non-wood forest products. Around a fifth of respondents have doubts about the management of their woodlands and seem open to some form of independent assurance. This does not translate directly into an interest in FSC certification, however. From the responses to the final question, it is clear that a proportion of small woodland owners know too little about certification and its potential benefits to make an informed decision, while a greater proportion are put off by issues of cost and paperwork, or do not see or seek economic benefits. On the basis of their current understanding of FSC forest management certification, it seems that only one or two of the respondents would seek certification. There is clearly work for FSC UK and its partners to do to better communicate the potential benefits of FSC forest management certification. These results show that timber production is not a priority for many small woodland owners, but there may be scope to engage them in FSC’s developing work on demonstrating the impact of forest stewardship on ecosystem services. And FSC’s exploration of risk-based approaches to the development, implementation and auditing of national forest stewardship standards is highly relevant to relieving some of the perceived barriers of cost and bureaucratic burden. In the meantime, we will continue to promote forest management group schemes as the best route into certification for most owners of small woodlands. We are always interested in hearing the views of existing certificate holders or those considering FSC certification. If you have any thoughts on the certification of smaller woodlands, contact Forest Standards Manager, Owen Davies at owen@fsc-uk.org.

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Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) UK is a charity dedicated to promoting responsible forestry. For more information about FSC UK: www.fsc-uk.org info@fsc-uk.org The Billiard Room, Town Hall, Great Oak Street Llanidloes Powys, SY18 6BN 01686 413916

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FSC in numbers 2,357 Chain of Custody certificates in the UK 1,623,926 hectares of FSC certified forest in the UK 32,191 Chain of Custody certificates worldwide 195.597 million hectares of FSC certified forest worldwide Latest figures from FSC IC. Correct as of 2 May 2017. The full list of figures can be viewed at https://ic.fsc.org/en/facts-figures