China launches FSC national forest stewardship standard, reports FSC in its press release. Thus, China is the second country in the Asia Pacific region to publish a national forest stewardship standard based on the latest version of the FSC Principles & Criteria.
FSC-certified forests in China
China imports more wood than any other country in the world. The forests that are FSC-certified in the country are mainly for production and contain monoculture plantations such as poplar and eucalyptus trees with short rotation periods of five to seven years. There are also FSC-certified Chinese fir and pine trees with more extended rotation up to 25 years. In China on average smallholders manage about 2 hectares of forests, with some manage less than 0.1 hectares and some up to 160 hectares.
Chinese national forest stewardship standard
The new national standard set clear targets for forest managers towards sustainable intensification and proactive management of environmental values. Experts in natural conservation, worker's rights, forest carbon management, poverty alleviation, international trade, and law and legislation helped to write the standard.
Global, national forest stewardship standards in development
Over 80 countries are working to transfer their national standards from version 4 of the Principles and Criteria to version 5. 70 countries are developing national-level standards around the world and usually include representation of social, environmental, and economic stakeholders. FSC-accredited certification bodies are developing interim national standards in countries where we don’t have an FSC representative.
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