The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) works to improve forest management worldwide, and through certification creates an incentive for forest owners and managers to follow best social and environmental practices. The Controlled Wood Program develops reviews and maintains FSC standards for non-FSC certified materials used in FSC Mix products. The non-certified portion must comply with the FSC Controlled Wood standards. This enables manufacturers and traders to avoid timber and timber products from unacceptable sources.
There are 5 categories of unacceptable material that cannot be mixed with FSC certified materials:
- Illegally harvested wood (Category 1)
- Wood harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights (Category 2)
- Wood harvested in forests in which High Conservation Values (HCV) are threatened by management activities (Category 3)
- Wood harvested in forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use (Category 4)
- Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted. (Category 5).
The Centralized National Risk Assessment (CNRA) has been initiated to increase the global coverage of FSC risk assessments. These will be used by FSC-certified organisations wanting to source FSC Controlled Wood, and will provide the basis for developing more detailed National Risk Assessments (NRAs) later.
The assessments made during the CNRA includes public consultations, with the first workshop planned for September 2016 and the 2nd draft to be sent out for public comment in November 2016.
For more information contact Manushka Moodley at m.moodley@fsc.org