Wednesday, 06 July 2016
Working Group established to revise FSC Pesticides Policy
An interest-balanced working group has been established to revise the FSC Pesticides Policy. The working group comprises six stakeholders and three technical experts, who together represent both Southern and Northern perspectives of the social, environmental, and economic interests of FSC. The group will be responsible for developing a practical and realistic approach to pesticide use for FSC.
The revised policy will include the best feasible approaches for reducing the use of chemical pesticides in FSC-certified operations, and for preventing, minimizing, and mitigating the environmental and social impacts of chemical pesticide use.
The FSC Pesticides Policy regulates the use of pesticides in FSC-certified operations. Its key elements are:
- the identification and avoidance of ‘highly hazardous’ pesticides
- the promotion of ‘non-chemical’ methods of pest management as an element of an integrated pest management strategy
- the appropriate use of those pesticides that are used.
The FSC International Board of Directors decided to revise the Pesticides Policy in March 2015 and approved the terms of reference for an interest-balanced working group to lead the revision process in November 2015. The activities of the working group will start in July 2016.
All information – terms of reference, current policy, membership of the working group, and additional resources – can be found here.