British Columbia Standard

The initial efforts to develop an FSC standard for British Columbia's forests began in 1996, with a BC Steering Committee elected in 1999.   After extensive public consultation and technical review the BC Steering Committee submitted a standard for approval that lacked unanimous support.  Recognizing the work that had been done to bring things as far as they'd come, as well as the complexity and controversies surrounding forestry in British Columbia, FSC International decided to accredit the BC Standard according to the newly created Preliminary Accreditation policy.  This policy was designed to enable all parties to gain experience in applying a standard, while creating a firm timeline for the standard to be revised

Based on the experience gained in implementing the Preliminary Standard, the BC Steering Committee recommended a set of revised standards which were accredited by FSC International in October 2005.  In addition to addressing the conditions that came with the Preliminary accreditation, the revised BC Standards adopt an innovative approach in developing a stand-alone standard designed for use in small operations.

NEW- Regional FM Standards Review and Revisions

According to FSC-STD-60-006 (Process Requirements for the Development and Maintenance of FSC Standards, 2009), all regional Forest Management (FM) standards are approved for a five year period, after which they are required to undergo a review and revision. Due to the current revision of the FSC Principles and Criteria (P&C), upon which all regional FM standarsd are based, there will be no revisions to Canadian FM standards until the new FSC P&C are approved. Regional FM standards will remain valid until such time as these standards according to the new FSC P&C.

Questions about the British Columbia Standard?  Contact standards@fsccanada.org

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