Monitoring sustainability

Forest management should respect all relevant laws of the country as well as international treaties and agreements to which the country is a signatory and fulfill the principles and criteria of the FSC®.

Long-term ownership claims and usage rights to land and forest resources should be clearly defined, documented and legally enshrined.

The legal and customary rights of indigenous groups with regard to the ownership, use and management of land, territories and resources must be recognized and respected.

Forest management should maintain or increase the social and economic well-being of those working in the forest and the local population in the long term.

Forest management promotes the efficient use of the diverse products and services of the forest so that it becomes economically viable in the long term and can ensure a wide range of environmental and social benefits.

Forest management should preserve biodiversity & associated values, water resources, soils and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, thereby ensuring the ecological functions and integrity of the forest.

A planning system appropriate to the size and management intensity of the forestry operation must be drawn up, applied and updated. It clearly describes the long-term management objectives and the means to achieve them.

Documentation and evaluation appropriate to the operational structure should determine the condition of the forest, the yields of the harvested forest products, the trade and utilization chain, the management measures and their social and ecological impacts.

Management measures in forests with a high conservation value should preserve or increase their characteristics. Decisions concerning these forests should always be considered in terms of a preventive approach.

Plantations shall be managed in accordance with Principles 1 to 9, Principle 10 and its criteria. While plantations can provide a range of social and economic benefits and help meet global demand for forest products, they are intended to complement the management of natural forests, reduce pressure on them and promote their restoration and conservation.