Good practice guidelines for HCV assessments: A guide for practitioners & auditors

This document sets out good practices for the identification and management of High Conservation Values (HCVs), and HCV forests and areas. It provides detailed guidance on the HCV assessment process, and should be of particular use to HCV practitioners involved in planning and conducting such an assessment, and to certifying bodies auditing HCV identification reports and management plans. Particular emphasis is placed on requirements to maintain the robustness and credibility of the process, which should be a priority for forest or land-use managers implementing an HCV management plan. This document will be particularly useful for assessments of large, complex or controversial cases.

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Assessment, Management & Monitoring of High Conservation Values: A practical guide for forest managers

This guide is intended for forest and land managers. It should help those interested in the sustainable management of forests and those committed to certification against the Forest Stewardship Council’s Principles and Criteria for Responsible Forest Management. This guide is intended to help with the identification of high conservation values and the definition of appropriate management and monitoring measures. It focuses on the key steps that are necessary for robust, credible and transparent decisions.

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Forest Governance and Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)

Presented at the UNFCCC in Bali, December 2007. This paper sets out a number of lessons from ongoing efforts to improve forest governance, which should be considered at both the design and implementation stage of a potential REDD mechanism, and suggests that those countries that improve their forest governance, clarify tenurial arrangements and address illegality are more likely to achieve reduced deforestation and benefit from potential REDD investment than those that do not.

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The Forest Certification Handbook - 2nd Edition

This book gives practical advice on developing, selecting and operating a certification programme which provides both market security and raises standards of forestry management.

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The Sustainable Forestry Handbook - 2nd Edition (2005)

The Sustainable Forestry Handbook is the essential aid to understanding and implementing new standards of forestry management. Aimed primarily at forest managers and management teams in tropical, developing countries, this informative guide is based around the Forest Stewardship Council’s Principles and Criteria and the International Tropical Timber Organisation Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management.

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Forest Certification: A Review of Impacts and Assessment Frameworks

Executive summary of the impacts of forest certification, and four assessment frameworks, commissioned by The Forests Dialogue (TFD).

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Certificaçáo em grupo: um guia prático

Um guia prático direcionado `aqueles interessados em desenvolver sistemas de certificação de grupo de acordo com as normas do FSC.

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Modular Implementation and Verification (MIV): a toolkit for the phased application of forest management standards and certification

Modular Implementation and Verification (MIV) provides a practical tool for achieving phased or stepwise application of forest management standards and certification.

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Technologies for Wood Tracking: Verifying and Monitoring the chain of Custody and Legal Compliance in the Timber Industry

World Bank - WWF Alliance report

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Getting Small Forest Enterprises into Certification: How standards constrain the certification of small forest enterprises (2002)

With input from Fernando Aguilar, Aurea Nardelli and Hannah Scrase This report examines the constraints facing small forest enterprises which derive specifically from forestry certification standards, discusses the causes of these constraints, and offers a number of options for reducing the barriers. The report will be of interest to anyone working in forest certification or standard-setting, especially where they are likely to be working with small enterprises.

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Assessing Forest Certification Schemes: A Practical Guide (2002)

With input from Patrick Armstrong, Pierre Hauselmann, Sophie Higman, Markku Simula and Nancy Vallejo. This practical guide identifies and discusses the features which make a forest certifications scheme reliable and effective providing users with a sound basis for making their own assessment of a particular scheme.

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How standards constrain the certification of small forest enterprises - Annexes 1-4

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Group Certification for Forests: the Model Documents

Templates for procedures and other documents needed to develop a group certification scheme available here as Word documents.

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Group Certification for Forests: A Practical Guide (2002)

With input from the Soil Association Woodmark Programme, the Rainforest Alliance SmartWood Network and SGS Qualifor.

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Involving Harvesting Contractors in Forest Certification (2002)

Guidance for loggers, harvesting contractors and others involved in forest operations with an interest in certification.

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Contractors and Certification: How does Forest Certification Impact the Use of Contractors (2001)

One of the requirements of most certification standards for forestry is that the welfare and rights of the forest workforce are considered and protected. Within this overall requirement the issue of contractors needs to be considered.

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An analysis of the barriers faced by small-scale farmers and communities producing timber outside a conventional forest matrix, and recommendations for progress: Final Report (2000)

An analysis of the problems faced by small landowners providing timber outside a forest environment.

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Forest Certification: Verifying Sustainable Management (2000)

Paper presented at the workshop on Streamlining Local-Level Information for Sustainable Forest Management, 28-30 August 2000, University of British Colombia, Canada.

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An Analysis of Current FSC Accreditation, Certification and Standard-Setting Procedures Identifying Elements Which Cause Constraints For Small Forest Owners (2000)

The FSC's requirements for accreditation, certification and national standards and the constraints these cause to small forest enterprises seeking certification. An analysis of the issues and recommendations for action.

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