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FSC Indigenous Foundation Launches Global Development Alliance for Indigenous Peoples

The Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development aims to create solutions to empower world’s Indigeno

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FSC Joins #Together4Forests Movement

FSC has joined 100+ NGOs supporting the #Together4Forests movement urging citizens to take part in a European Commission public consultation on def

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FSC Collaborates with Amazon on Climate Pledge Friendly Program

Through this initiative, Amazon is helping to transform the global market for FSC-certified products and helping to protect the world’s forests for

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Maderacre: Protecting Biodiversity in the Heart of the Amazon

The FSC Ecosystem Services Procedure has helped Maderacre verify its positive impacts on biodiversity and carbon, supporting the protection of the

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Solutions for Small-Scale and Community Forests

Small-scale and community forests are at the heart of FSC. The specific challenges that these groups face are not only linked to the requirements of FSC certification, which are sometimes too complex or costly for them, but also to access markets that value sustainability. To rise to these challenges, we are continuously working on increasing our impact and making the FSC system more attractive to these stakeholders under the Community and Family Forests program.

Community and Family Forests Program
FSC Smallholder and Communities
FSC Denmark

One size doesn’t fit all

Small-scale, family and community forests have specific characteristics, such as land size, ownership or internal governance that require tailor made approaches. Finding globally relevant and locally adaptable policy solutions and business or market related tools has been our goal for over 25 years. We have learned to embrace the complex barriers and challenges facing these groups and have created a toolbox aimed towards increasing uptake of FSC certification as well as adding benefit for these constituents. 

In line with our FSC Global Strategy 2021-2026, we have divided our work into three distinct work streams; enablers, market solutions and policy solutions. These are all meant to complement each other to help increase uptake and benefit of FSC certification of small-scale and community forests. 

Work Streams

work for us

Enablers

Engage, communicate, train and fundraise.

Congolese forest

Policy Solutions

The FSC system had always considered small-scale and community forests. Many normative documents are relevant. But we have now taken it one step further and revised and developed several policy solutions with...

Policy Solutions
market development

Market Tools

Getting certified doesn't help if there is no way for small-scale forest owners and communities to connect to markets that value sustainability. This is why we are exploring both systemic and value chain...

Market Solutions
Bridge forest 1
Aleksey Kuprikov / Pexels

Building on Experience

We have developed policy and market based tools and solutions after trying, testing, and developing internationally recognised and proven methodologies for over 25 years. Dive deeper into our history and learn more here. 

forests for the future

Podcast

Forest for the future podcast series. Episode 9: Making FSC relevant for smallholders and communities worldwide. Interview with Vera Santos, New Approaches Project Manager at FSC

25.08.20. Smallholders and community forests play a key role in combatting climate change but only a fraction of them are certified to FSC. What is FSC doing to change that fact and make our system more relevant to this very important group of forest owners? Vera will explain more about the solutions they are testing currently, like contractor certification, modular approach to certification and improvements to the group certification standard. 

Listen now