A unit of Lasting Forests evolving since March 30, 1999
A Total Forest Management Plan and Wildland Management Decision Support System
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Principles of the Forest Stewardship Council:
The Basic List

Additional information about the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), its standards and criteria, certification, and Smartwood are also available. The Trevey provides information to assist in fulfilling the Principles and their Criteria for forest certification and, when fully implemented, tends to be specific evidence for meeting Principle No. 7. The following is simply the basic list of 10 principles:

1.COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS AND FSC PRINCIPLES
Forest management shall respect all applicable laws of the country in which they occur, and International treaties and agreements to which the country is a signatory, and comply with all FSC Principles and Criteria.

2.TENURE AND USE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Long-term tenure and use rights to the land and forest resources shall be clearly defined, documented, and legally established.

3.INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' RIGHTS
The legal and customary rights of indigenous peoples to own, use and manage their lands, territories, and resources shall be recognized and respected.

4. COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND WORKER'S RIGHTS
Forest management operations shall maintain or enhance the Ion g4erm social and economic well being of forest workers and local communities.

5. BENEFITS FROM THE FOREST
Forest management operations shall encourage the efficient use of the forest's multiple products and services to ensure economic viability and a wide range of environmental and social benefits.

6. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Forest management shall conserve biological diversity and its associated values, water resources, soils, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes, and, by so doing, maintain the ecological functions and the integrity of the forest.

7. MANAGEMENT PLAN
A management plan - appropriate to the scale and intensity of the operations -- shall be written, implemented, and kept up to date. The long-term objectives of management, and the means of achieving them, shall be clearly stated. (See The Trevey.)

8. MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT
Monitoring shall be conducted - appropriate to the scale and intensity of forest management - - to assess the condition of the forest, yields of forest products, chain of custody, management activities and their social and environmental impacts.

9. MAINTENANCE OF NATURAL FORESTS
Primary forests, well-developed secondary forests and sites of major environmental, social or cultural significance shall be conserved. Such areas shall not be replaced by tree plantations or other land uses.

10. PLANTATIONS
Plantations shall be planned and managed in accordance with Principles and Criteria 1-9, and Principle 10 and its Criteria. While plantations can provide an array of social and economic benefits, and can contribute to satisfying the world's needs for forest products, they should complement the management of' reduce pressures on, and promote the restoration and conservation of natural forests.

A FSC glossary is available.

For additional information contact (as of July, 2001) Stephen Taranto, FSC Southeast Region, The Forest Management Trust, P0 Box 110760, Gainesville, Florida 32611

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This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision July 20, 2001.