Governments

Governments own and manage a majority of the world’s forests, so they also influence the forests’ future. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) works with many governments across the globe to help them balance their goals with the needs of the environment.

We actively engage with national and local governments to help them meet their sustainability commitments, including pledges to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and the Glasgow Climate Pact adopted at COP26.

Working with FSC helps governments and communities create economic, environmental, and social value that helps secure their forests’ future. By certifying public forests, you can take advantage of the growing global demand for sustainably sourced wood and other forest products. Certification helps prevent deforestation and create a safe work environment and fair wages for citizens, while protecting forests’ environmental, social, and cultural values.

Case study: Gabon

The Congo Basin is the world’s second largest rainforest after the Amazon. A sizeable share of this rainforest is in Gabon. Gabon wanted to take a different course than other Congo Basin countries where mining, illegal logging, and encroachment on wildlife habitat are threatening both the environment and sustainable economic development. 
 
In 2018, Gabon decided that all of its forests where private concessions operate—about 15 million hectares—must be FSC certified. Gabon believes this decision will open the door to new economic opportunity while also protecting animals such as the endangered African elephant, creating a safe environment with fair wages for workers, and protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
 

Learn more about FSC and Gabon

FSC certification of public forests enables you to communicate verified progress toward key sustainability goals. You’ll be able to provide specific data about the percentage of public forests being managed according to the world’s most rigorous standards for forest stewardship.

Showcase the full value of your sustainable forestry policies

FSC ecosystem services claims allow you to demonstrate how your commitment to sustain and protect national forests is making a measurable difference against some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. The procedure allows you to:

• verifiably measure the impact of your sustainable forestry practices
• track and communicate your contributions to global commitments such as the Paris Agreement
• connect these contributions to sponsors and sustainable finance

Implementing an FSC preference policy for public procurement needs is a powerful way to drive positive change. When you source FSC-certified paper supplies, office furniture, construction materials, and more, you’re supporting responsible forestry that helps the environment and improves your citizens’ quality of life.

You can also specify that public building initiatives use FSC-certified materials. FSC offers project certification to verify that projects such as new buildings, renovations, civil engineering projects, and event infrastructure use sustainably sourced forest materials.

To learn more about making FSC certification part of your public-spending policies, contact your local FSC team.

We are using our experience convening diverse groups of stakeholders to develop Focus Forests, a multistakeholder dialogue tool to explore and facilitate opportunities for joint decision-making on the future of forests with unique social and environmental values. 

These forests can include intact forest landscapes, ancient forests, Indigenous cultural landscapes, and other high-value forests. 

Developed jointly with a consortium of researchers and coordinated by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), our framework uses a newly developed dialogue methodology based on behavioural, economic, and game theory to explore different scenarios and facilitate joint decisions. 

To learn more, download the Focus Forests green paper or contact your local FSC team.

FSC’s solutions can help governments support many of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals define the world’s shared plan to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and do more to protect the planet by 2030.

In all, FSC’s work addresses 40 targets under 14 of the 17 SDGs. FSC’s responsible forestry standard is particularly relevant to realizing SDG 15, which is Life on Land. Our comprehensive economic, environmental, and social approach to forest stewardship also contributes to SDGs focused on poverty, equality, natural resources, production and consumption patterns, decent work, climate change, inclusive and accountable societies, and global partnerships.

Your local FSC team can identify ways FSC solutions can help you address your specific SDG commitments.

To learn more about FSC and the UN SDGs, download our fact sheet.