FSC Introduces New Onsite Tests for Ecosystem Services

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In order to verify the applicability of the draft ecosystem services on the ground, FSC has begun new pilot tests that will continue to September 2017. The objective is to establish the steps required to demonstrate the impact that responsible forest management has on ecosystem services.

In its Global Strategic Plan 2015-2020, FSC committed to offering new tools for certificate holders to access ecosystem services markets. This is part of a broader strategy to increase the market value of FSC as ecosystem services can result in increased net revenue for forest owners.

The FSC ecosystem services tools include a new procedure to demonstrate the impact of forest management activities on ecosystem services and how to access their markets.

Pilot Tests

A series of pilot tests took place last year as part of the ForCES project. Their aim was to verify the applicability of an early draft of the ecosystem services procedure. The results of these trials were used to develop the first draft of the procedure, recently submitted to public consultation.

Many forest managers showed interest in pilot testing the draft ecosystem services procedure, and a total of 20 requests were analyzed against the selection criteria. Eight were selected as pilot sites representing a wide diversity of geographical, managerial and forest type services and include smallholders, Indigenous Peoples and community-managed forests.

For further information about the Ecosystem Services procedure and the location of the pilot sites and the management organizations, please visit this page.

read more/source: https://ic.fsc.org/en/news-updates/id/1904

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