The value of responsible forest stewardship for biodiversity

During COP15 in Montreal, Canada, FSC together with WWF and IKEA announced the launch of an initiative to fast-track Biodiversity Assessments in FSC-certified forests. Now, during COP16 in Cali, Colombia, the first results are ready to be shared, taking a further step in demonstrating the value of forest biodiversity and contributing to the delivery of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. These first results indicate promising initial research into the benefits of responsible forest stewardship for biodiversity. 

Monitoring and assessing the impacts of human activities on forests and conservation initiatives is increasingly important. FSC certification has a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity across the globe by protecting rare and threatened species and their habitats as required by FSC standards. However, data about this impact is not systematically available. In fact, global biodiversity data is insufficient, not comparable, and, most importantly, does not aim to capture the actual value of nature in society. 

Eighty percent of global terrestrial biodiversity is found in the world’s forests. Thus, evaluating the outcomes of FSC certification is essential to allow insight-driven improvements of Forest Stewardship Standards (FSS) and be able to communicate the positive outcomes of responsible forest stewardship. This is important for FSC to remain relevant and credible in a changing market where substantiating sustainability impacts is increasingly needed. 

For this reason, FSC worked with partners including IKEA, Tetra Pak, UPM, Kingfisher, SCA, Essity, and WWF International, to enhance the understanding and monitoring of the effects of FSC certification on biodiversity in Brazil, Finland and Sweden.  

First phase completed: What was found? 

The initiative has two phases towards enhancing the understanding and monitoring of the effects of FSC certification on biodiversity. The first phase, is to evaluate the biodiversity value associated with FSC Forest Management Certification. Evidence from Brazil, Finland and Sweden shows a promising indication that FSC Forest Management certification contributes to biodiversity conservation, including rare, threatened, and endangered species, in Brazil, Finland, and Sweden. Notably, within the scope of the project: 

• Over 300 threatened species, including endangered primates, reptiles, plants, birds, and large mammals, have been identified in Brazilian FSC-certified plantations and their set-asides. 
• Over 9% (7,000 ha) of all the FSC-certified forests evaluated are designed for conservation as a result from FSC Forest Management certification in Finland. 
• The probability of occurrence of 19 key forest indicators and red-listed species has remained stable in FSC-certified forests in Sweden over the past 20 years.  
• FSC-attributable set-aside areas enhance forest connectivity in Brazilian and Finnish landscapes. 

Andrei Shchegolev, WWF Global Forest Certification Lead: 

Responsible forest management certification is a key solution that benefits both nature and people. It’s important that we improve global understanding and monitoring of impacts of FSC-certification on biodiversity. Initial results show promising indications of positive impact, but significant limitations in the data point to clear improvements needed. The release of these results at COP16 offers a renewed commitment to ensuring FSC remains fit for purpose and continues to catalyse private sector leadership towards a net zero and nature positive future.

Want to learn more?  

The findings of this first phase are available on this interactive story with the final reports of the analysis.