Zimbabwe forest stewardship standards in the making
FSC forest management certification is back on the cards for Zimbabwe after taking a backseat for almost 15 years, largely due to severe economic challenges, such as hyperinflation, high interest rates, an unstable exchange rate, and a volatile political climate.
The impetus driving Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in Zimbabwe was the awarding of FSC forest management certification to Border Timbers and The Wattle Company in 2022. FSC reinstated their status after a 10 year hiatus. It was achieved under the Group Scheme certification services offered by CMO Logistics and covers 20,000 hectares in the Manicaland Province.
Last year, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) appointed the non-governmental organisation Soil Association Certification to develop Interim National Standards (INS) for forestry in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The Soil Association’s forestry standards specialists, Vanessa Linforth and Jeanette Clarke, are facilitating the project in Zimbabwe, where they are working with the lead agency, the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission.
The INS will form the basis for FSC forest management auditing and certification until a full national standard exists. The FSC forest management standard comprises 10 principles covering social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainable forestry.
Forest certification ensures that plantations are managed responsibly and sustainably, safeguarding forest workers’ and community rights, protecting the environment, and ensuring the profitability of the forest enterprise. It will facilitate exports of Zimbabwean forest products and encourage competitiveness.
In 2023, stakeholders were identified and participated in drawing up the first draft of the INS. In January, 25 participants from diverse industries participated in a webinar that initiated the first round of consultation on the draft standard.
The Zimbabwe standard’s scope is expected to incorporate plantation and indigenous forests, large-scale and small-scale timber growers, and timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
The next phase includes a country tour by Jeanette Clarke to engage with the Forestry Commission, timber producer associations, forestry companies, community and worker’s rights representatives and others to seek input to the first draft of the standard.
The second draft will be available for review mid-year.
Source: WoodBiz Africa Magazine – March 2024 (Page 22)
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