Monday, 22 July 2019
Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment for Canada
July 20, 2019
On June 28, 2019 FSC Canada announced the launch of the country’s Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment, after three years of rigorous consultation. The new National Risk Assessment provides consistent and credible application of FSC’s Controlled Wood system to uphold the rights of Indigenous Peoples, protect species at risk such as woodland caribou, and protect Intact Forest Landscapes.
Meanwhile, the Controlled Wood Risk Assessment for the conterminous United States was published in April 2019, with Hawaii and Alaska to be added by the end of the year.
While the two countries may seem similar at casual glance, there are many significant environmental, social, regulatory and political differences that shaped development of each National Risk Assessment. For example, most managed forests in Canada are publicly owned concession lands, with much greater transparency into forest product supply chains due their relatively short length and simplicity, as well as the way materials are managed. In addition, Forest Management Standards vary between the countries, with different High Conservation Value Forest frameworks in each, which are expressed in their respective National Risk Assessments.
Learn more about Canada’s Controlled Wood National Risk Assessment.
FSC US will be hosting two meetings later this summer about the US National Risk Assessment:
- Wednesday, August 7 in Atlanta, GA
- Tuesday, August 13 in Portland, OR
If you are interested in attending one of these meetings, please complete this brief survey.
To stay informed about changes to FSC policies and standards in the US, please join the FSC US Policy and Standards Forum by emailing info at us.fsc point org.