Monday, 07 September 2015
Have your say on UK forestry certification: PAWS, Veteran Trees and Deadwood
© FSC UKEvery five years, the standard against which forest management in the UK is assessed for FSC certification, the UK Woodland Assurance Standard or UKWAS, is revised. The revision process takes into account not only FSC’s international requirements, reflected in our Principles and Criteria, but also the views of the many other stakeholders in UK forests.
The requirement for Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) has been greatly simplified as there is now far more published guidance on managing these sites. Let us know what you think of the changes; check out section 4.3 of the draft standard.
A new requirement has been added to ensure that veteran trees are protected and potential future veteran trees are nurtured. Let us know what you think of this addition; check out section 4.6.3 of the draft standard.
As with PAWS, the requirement for deadwood has been simplified as there is now far more published guidance on managing this important habitat. The requirement and guidance have been clarified to make sure that deadwood habitat management is planned at the forest scale but focused on those areas where it can deliver maximum benefit. Let us know what you think; check out section 4.6.4 of the draft standard.
Click here to download a consultation paper, which includes a link to the consultation draft, details of how the draft was prepared and some key questions for stakeholders. Any responses should be sent to ukwas@confor.org.uk by 30 October 2015.