FSC organized an official side event on how to make national REDD+ more effective. FSC called for governments to invest in FSC-certified forests and to use FSC Principles and Criteria as a basis for their national policy reforms. FSC also presented a list of policy options for governments to use around REDD+.
FSC co-hosted an event with the Peruvian government and other organizations in relation to the vital role of timber legality in sustainable development: ‘Growing the Market for Legal Wood’.
FSC Chief Advocacy Officer, John Hontelez, declared: “FSC is keen to work with Latin American governments to promote legal and sustainable forestry”.
Before COP21, FSC France also called for world leaders to take action on forests in its manifesto.
FSC promoted the manifesto at its COP21 stand all along the event. It also displayed a number of FSC success stories through an interactive world map entitled ‘The FSC family: Working together around the world’. The stories showcased how FSC had been contributing to the fight against deforestation and climate change for more than twenty years.
Members of the FSC permanent Indigenous Peoples committee (PIPC) participated in the CIFOR Global Landscape Forum – the largest and most influential forestry event organized in parallel to COP21. The PIPC representatives discussed the benefits of FSC certification for their communities and how FSC helped Indigenous Peoples to engage and have their say in issues around sustainable forest management.
This reaffirmed the commitment made by Canada one week later to have indigenous rights re-introduced into the COP21 final agreement.