FSC celebrates 20th anniversary

FSC is to mark its 20^th anniversary at its triennial General Assembly in Seville, Spain. The organization was founded in 1994 after the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro failed to address the challenge of deforestation.

Since the Rio Summit, the world has lost seven percent of its forest cover. While some countries in temperate regions have seen deforestation rates stabilize, or even reverse, loss of forest cover remains a significant challenge, especially in tropical regions where FSC’s influence remains limited.

More than 180 million hectares of forest are FSC-certified. The organization works with 150,000 small holders around the world, and is increasingly working with indigenous groups who live in and around certified forests. Recently, FSC formed the Permanent Indigenous Peoples’ Committee to ensure that indigenous people have a say in the way forests are managed.

The General Assembly is FSC’s top decision-making body, where the members propose, debate and vote on policy that guides the organization.

Kim Carstensen (pictured), FSC director-general, said: ‘We are proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last 20 years. We have come a long way, but we can achieve even more. And the world’s forests need that.

‘There are many tools needed to prevent deforestation in tropical forest countries. One of these tools is certification.

‘We currently have 20 million hectares certified in tropical timber countries, and about 10 percent of the total FSC certified forest is in the tropics. This is not nearly enough. But we do know that those 20 million hectares are being managed in such a way that is environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable. We need to work to increase that 20 million hectares substantially.’