New FSC standard for smaller forests properties

May 11, 2010 by timbercommunity

The new Swedish Forestry Standard of the FSC will take effect from 1 June this year. The new standard will make it easier for private forest owners to join the FSC's global system for responsible forest use. The rules approved this week will apply to Swedish forest owners who have less than 1000 hectares of forest. For those who have less than 20 and 50 hectares of forest there are additional relief in some aeas.

There are efforts to open the FSC scheme for landowners who carries a small or low intensity forestry  at the international level. The special rules are called for SLIMF, an acronym for Small and Low- Intensity Forest Management.
In Sweden, half the forest area owned by individuals. Among those most affected (over 99 percent) of the simplified rules. 
- In Sweden today, especially the forest companies are certified. The  FSC's rules may prove that forestry is conducted in a responsible manner, a requirement imposed by a growing number of companies and end consumers, says My Laurell, operation manager at the Swedish FSC.SLIMF contains fewer demands on documentation and mapping according to Principle 6, Environmental, and less and custom requirements for consultation under Principle 4, among other matters, community relations.