Summary 5, oct. 14-27: Themes and opinions from the e-conference debate

number of participants: 6

Thread 2: How can FSC really start to deliver on its mission in the South?

1. Better understanding of the situation for National Initiatives in the South:

Strengthening and increasing the number of National Initiatives (NIs) and contact persons in the South should go a long way to improving FSC's delivery. Yet, if these NIs are going to become the base of FSC, study of how they might operate in the South, including an analysis and better understanding of current initiatives, is sorely needed. As the setting in the South is fundamentally different from that in the North, the Southern NIs cannot be expected to operate in the same way as their counterparts in the North. Operating costs will generally be higher and cannot be borne by the members of the NIs. FSC will need to develop a strategy for long-term support for these NIs.

2. More awareness raising and better communication about FSC:

Lack of interest in FSC and certification is as important a problem as access. Awareness raising and communication regarding FSC needs a huge boost in the South. The messages should not only focus on what FSC and certification are, but also on the advantages of certification. Producers, users and managers must have an incentive for working towards FSC certification, and this incentive will be strongly linked to understanding certification's advantages of added-value and long-term viability. Language will also be an issue; English/Spanish will not work in some places.

3. Cost reduction, funding by timber-using companies and accreditation of Southern certifiers:

Lowering costs and simplifying the process of certification are also critical issues in the South. A step-wise approach is needed in the South where management practices are generally lagging far behind those in the North and where, consequently, attaining certification will be a medium- to long-term undertaking. Subsidies, fundraising and strategic partnerships seem to be strategies that can partially address the cost issue, as is the model of getting companies that want certified products to pay some of the costs linked to improved forest management. The answer to the issue of high costs linked to Northern certifiers is obvious: FSC needs to promote/facilitate the process of establishing accredited certifiers based in the South. FSC needs to investigate these options and establish and implement a cost-reduction strategy.

4. Need for links with grassroots organisations:

Besides the vital and necessary links with world bodies, please establish more direct contact with 'grassroots' groups like indigenous NGOs. It is the natives on the ground who know their land rights, and suffer if these are infringed by outside forces.

5. Lack of experienced foresters in developing countries:

Many of the comments to date mention the importance of training in the implementation of FSC's strategies. What has not been mentioned is the severe limitation that the shortage of experienced foresters places on the implementation of sustainable forest management practices in many countries of the tropics. I fear that outside agencies may poach the few effective foresters and divert them from management to certification activities. There is no quick fix to this problem of lack of experience but it remains an important factor controlling the rate of effective forest management and hence, the rate of legitimate certification.

6. Simplifying to a "North/South" divide is misleading:

Please drop the North/South terminology, could we call it what it really is: developed and developing? As an FSC member in the southern hemisphere, but living in a developed nation, I am constantly confronted with issues that affect the whole region. My country (Australia) provides no funds for civil society groups. I am continually told that I live in a "northern country, but in economic and social terms I don't.

Even though I live in Canada, as an Indigenous person I do not enjoy the kind of funding available to people from organisations and businesses. There needs to be recognition that current definitions may not accurately reflect reality for many people.

The FSC objectives conference is funded by DFID-FRP (UK) projectnr ZF0185, and facilitated by Treemail (NL)
For more information please contact: info@fscobjectives.org