The team at FSC® Canada is thrilled to share a newly created Guidebook aimed to help Canadian smallholders and community forests gain a better understanding of FSC certification and its benefits. |
Available in limited quantity hard copies and digitally, the Guidebook provides an overview of FSC Canada's Small-Scale, Low-Intensity Managed and Community Forest (SLIMF+CF) Standard - a modified version of the National Forest Stewardship Standard that accommodates the unique needs of smaller, less intensive operations.
Understanding that the certification process can feel overwhelming, the Guidebook gives straightforward summaries of the following:
- The ten (10) Principles found in the SLIMF+CF Standard (Standard),
- Key focus areas for each Principle, to help you determine your current alignment with the Standard,
- Indications of which elements of the Standard will require more time or resources to achieve,
- Examples of how certain requirements in the Standard may be verified by auditors including interviews, site visits, existing policies and procedures and other examples of supporting documents.
To qualify for the SLIMF+CF your forest must meet the following criteria:
- Small-scale forests (1,000 hectares or smaller),
- Low-intensity forests (harvest <20% of mean annual growth timber- and - annual (average) harvest of 5,000 m3 (averaged over the 5-year certificate lifetime)),
- Community forests (managed by a local administration or government, community group, First Nation or community-held corporation for the benefit of the entire community, with profits cycled back into the community).
If you’d like a hard copy of the SLIMF+CF Guidebook please email info@ca.fsc.org today. Limited quantities are available in both English and French. Or you can download your digital copy today.
A big thank you to Glen Prevost from the Eastern Ontario Model Forest (EOMF)/Ontario Woodlot Association for his supporting in creating this tool.