These are the last few days for consultation on the Forest Stewardship Council’s ecosystem services procedure and guidance. The two drafts are open for consultation until December 23, 2017.
The Ecosystem Services Procedure aims to provide FSC certificate holders with a process to measure the positive impact that their management has on ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, watershed services or biological diversity conservation. Once this positive impact is demonstrated, FSC says certificate holders can use several market tools to attract investments and access new markets, allowing them expanding their income sources.
A statement from FSC notes that ecosystem services market tools will increase the confidence of governments, investors, buyers, and businesses in ecosystem services markets. They can be used to demonstrate the impact that their investments have on preserving ecosystem services.
The guidance provides further detail to help understand the different steps of the procedure, and provides some examples of methodologies that can be used on the ground to measure the benefits on ecosystem services thanks to FSC-certified forest management.
All stakeholders are invited to participate in this 30-day consultation to let us know whether they think these drafts are clear, aligned with the global strategy and offer value to certificate holders and potential investors, funders and retailers.