High conservation value forest

High conservation value forest (HCVF) is a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management designation used to describe those forests who meet criteria defined by the FSC Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship.

Specifically, high conservation value forests are those that possess one or more of the following attributes:

forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant: concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g. endemism, endangered species, refugia); and/or large landscape-level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance
forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems
forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g. watershed protection, erosion control)
forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g. subsistence, health) and/or critical to local communities' traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities).^[1]

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Our planet's diverse thriving ecosystems may seem like permanent fixtures, but they're actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks, even without cataclysmic events, like volcanoes and asteroids. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change? The answer, to a large extent, is biodiversity. Biodiversity is built out of three intertwined features: ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity. The more intertwining there is between these features, the denser and more resilient the weave becomes. Take the Amazon rainforest, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth due to its complex ecosystems, huge mix of species, and the genetic variety within those species. Here are tangled liana vines, which crawl up from the forest floor to the canopy, intertwining with treetops and growing thick wooden stems that support these towering trees. Helped along by the vines, trees provide the seeds, fruits and leaves to herbivores, such as the tapir and the agouti, which disperse their seeds throughout the forest so they can grow. Leftovers are consumed by the millions of insects that decompose and recycle nutrients to create rich soil. The rainforest is a huge system filled with many smaller systems, like this, each packed with interconnected species. Every link provides stability to the next, strengthening biodiversity's weave. That weave is further reinforced by the genetic diversity within individual species, which allows them to cope with changes. Species that lack genetic diversity due to isolation or low population numbers, are much more vulnerable to fluctuations caused by climate change, disease or habitat fragmentation. Whenever a species disappears because of its weakened gene pool, a knot is untied and parts of the net disintegrate. So, what if we were to remove one species from the rainforest? Would the system fall apart? Probably not. The volume of species, their genetic diversity, and the complexity of the ecosystems form such rich biodiversity in this forest that one species gap in the weave won't cause it to unravel. The forest can stay resilient and recover from change. But that's not true in every case. In some environments, taking away just one important component can undermine the entire system. Take coral reefs, for instance. Many organisms in a reef are dependent on the coral. It provides key microhabitats, shelter and breeding grounds for thousand of species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Corals also form interdependent relationships with fungi and bacteria. The coral itself is a loom that allows the tangled net of biodiversity to be woven. That makes coral a keystone organism, one that many others depend on for their suvival. So what happens when destructive fishing practices, pollution and ocean acidification weaken coral or even kill it altogether? Exactly what you might think. The loss of this keystone species leaves its dependents at a loss, too, threatening the entire fabric of the reef. Ecosystem, species and genetic diversity together form the complex tangled weave of biodiversity that is vital for the survival of organisms on Earth. We humans are woven into this biodiversity, too. When just a few strands are lost, our own well-being is threatened. Cut too many links, and we risk unraveling it all. What the future brings is unpredictable, but biodiversity can give us an insurance policy, Earth's own safety net to safeguard our survival.

History

The denomination HCVF arose relatively recently in connection with the development of standards for the certification of forest management. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international accreditation association incorporated in 1995, first started considering the term high conservation values in 1996.^[2] FSC formally included the term high conservation value forests in the FSC Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship in January 1999.^[1]

A number of terms have been used somewhat interchangeably with the term HCVF. To a certain extent this arises from translation between languages and to a certain extent it arises from varying approaches at interpretation. The Spanish version uses the terms bosques con alto valor de conservación (forests with high value of conservation) and bosques con alto valor para la conservación (forests with high value for conservation).

As noted, the term HCVF arose following consideration of the term high conservation values; this usage led to the concept of forests having high conservation values and forests with high conservation values. Indeed, the term high conservation value is sometimes given its own acronym HCV; however, the FSC refers to an HCV as "attributes".

Examples

Examples of the large landscape globally important forests include the Canada boreal forest and the remaining Amazon rainforest.

Examples of forest types which embrace rare or endangered species include the Dry deciduous forests of Madagascar the two Monterey Cypress of central coastal California^[3] and the Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests of coastal California.

HCVF Toolkits

Following the inclusion of the term in the FSC P&C in 1999, the FSC formed an Advisory Panel for the Implementation of high conservation value forests and the precautionary principle. This panel produced a number of consultation documents on how to identify HCVF, including indicators and verifiers. However, this consultation process was not finalized and FSC has yet to issue any specific guidance regarding HCVF1.^[2]

In lieu of formal guidance from FSC, there has been a proliferation of discussion on HCVF, led mainly by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In particular, the need for more precise and practical guidance led to a 2001 initiative by the UK-based consulting company, Proforest Ltd. This initiative led to the production of a three-part High Conservation Value Toolkit (the ‘Global Toolkit’).^[4] The Global Toolkit offered a revised definition of HCVF as follows:

A High Conservation Value Forest is the area of forest required to maintain or enhance a High Conservation Value.^[4]

This definition provides a new approach to the zonation of HCVF as well as introduces the concept of ‘High Conservation Value’. The inclusion of the term ‘area of forest’ provide clarity that there may be instances where an HCVF zone might be restricted to part of a forest, while the FSC definition implied that the presence of one or more HCV attribute would render the whole forest as to be a ‘high conservation value forest’. Indeed, despite the provision for partial zonation, the Global Toolkit makes it clear that for the purposes of certification, any forest management unit containing even one small HCV is classified as a High Conservation Value Forest, which brings into play extra requirements for consultation, maintenance or enhancement, and annual monitoring. However, the additional burden is determined by the nature of the HCV and will affect only those parts of the forest, and those aspects of management, that are required for the maintenance or enhancement of the HCV (this procedure is explained in more detail in the section on Adaptive Management, below).

There are six recognized forms of High conservation values forests:

HCV1. Forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g. endemism, endangered species, refugia).

HCV2. Forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant large landscape level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.

HCV3. Forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems.

HCV4. Forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g. watershed protection, erosion control).

HCV5. Forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g. subsistence, health).

HCV6. Forest areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities).^[4]

The Global Toolkit has not been explicitly endorsed by the FSC but the revised ordering system appears to have gained widespread appeal and there is a recommendation for its use in FSC reports found in a footnote to an FSC reporting standard.^[1] The Global Toolkit was intentionally designed for a wide range of users beyond the FSC scheme. Indeed, in December 2005, the popularity of the HCV approach led to the formation of the HCV Resource Network which includes a broad platform of NGOs as well as the World Bank and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).^[5]

High conservation value areas

The concept of a High conservation value forest has now been generalized and used by other certification schemes like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the Better Cotton Initiative, the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and Bonsucro, among others. Consumer goods companies (mainly members of the Consumer Goods Forum) have also made independent commitments to protecting High Conservation Values in their supply chains.

The analogous six High Conservation Values are:

HCV 1: Concentrations of biological diversity including endemic species, and rare, threatened or endangered species, that are significant at global, regional or national levels.
HCV 2: Intact forest landscapes and large landscape-level ecosystems and ecosystem mosaics that are significant at global, regional or national levels, and that contain viable populations of the great majority of the naturally occurring species in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.
HCV 3: Rare, threatened, or endangered ecosystems, habitats or refugia.
HCV 4: Basic ecosystem services in critical situations, including protection of water catchments and control of erosion of vulnerable soils and slopes.
HCV 5: Sites and resources fundamental for satisfying the basic necessities of local communities or indigenous peoples (for livelihoods, health, nutrition, water, etc...), identified through engagement with these communities or indigenous peoples.
HCV 6: Sites, resources, habitats and landscapes of global or national cultural, archaeological or historical significance, and/or of critical cultural, ecological, economic or religious/sacred importance for the traditional cultures of local communities or indigenous peoples, identified through engagement with these local communities or indigenous peoples.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c FSC-STD-01-001 (April 2004)
^ ^a ^b T.J. Synnott. 2005. Some notes on the early years of FSC. Saltillo, Mexico, 19 November. 54 pp.
^ C.Michael Hogan and Michael P. Frankis. 2009. Monterey Cypress: Cupressus macrocarpa, GlobalTwitcher.com ed. N. Stromberg
^ ^a ^b ^c S. Jennings, R. Nussbaum, N. Judd and T. Evans. 2003. The High Conservation Value Forest Tool Kit. ProForest, Oxford, UK.
^ "Home". hcvnetwork.org.

This page was last edited on 19 October 2023, at 17:30

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