Announcement: Standards Development Group appointed

Following an extensive selection process, FSC Australia is excited to announce that the Standards Development Group (SDG) has now been appointed. The SDG has two key functions in the development of FSC Australia policies and standards.

• Come to a broad consensus position on behalf of the Australian membership on an FSC Australian National Forestry Standard (FSC ANFS) to be created pursuant to FSC STD 60-006 see http://au.fsc.org/national-standard-development.300.htm
• Identify consensus and concern about the International Generic Indicators for the revised FSC Principles and Criteria (FSC-STD-01-001 Version 5) to assist input from the FSC Australia Membership see http://igi.fsc.org

The make up of the group is as follows:

Social:
Aidan Flanagan - Institute of Foresters Australia
Tim Anderson - Regional Forrest Communities (Individual Member)
Travis Wacey - Union Movement (Individual Member)

Environmental:
Warrick Jordan - The Wilderness Society
Paul Winn - Hunter Community Environment Centre
David Blair - Ecologist (Individual Member)

Economic:
Suzette Weeding - SFM Environmental Solutions
Amanda Naismith - New Forests Asset Management
Peter Grist - Australian Forest Products Association

The chamber-balanced SDG will be responsible for the content and drafting of the FSC ANFS. The FSC Australia Board and FSC International Policy & Standards Unit will provide oversight on all phases of both processes until their final approval by the FSC Australia Board of Directors and FSC International.

Getting involved in the standards development process:
FSC is also establishing a Stakeholder Consultative Forum as a mechanism to provide ongoing, direct and meaningful input into development of the FSC ANFS. The role of the Consultative Forum is to ensure that all stakeholders who may be affected by or have an interest in the FSC ANFS have the opportunity to formally provide input during the process. The Consultative Forum includes individuals and representatives of organisations, reflecting the full range of stakeholders affected.

Membership of the Consultative Forum is open to any stakeholder on request, regardless of FSC membership status. However, only members can participate in any voting or decision making with regards to the final content of the standard. Communications on the structure and engagement methods of the forum will be communicated in the coming week.

The SDG will also be responsible for establishing expert working groups where subject or geographic specific issues require expert input and guidance.

Indigenous engagement:
The SDG Terms of Reference specified that one of the Social Chamber seats would be dedicated to Indigenous engagement and policy. Unfortunately we did not have any applicants for this seat.

However, the original plan for a specific seat to be allocated on the SDG was established prior to receipt of the FSC Australia Indigenous Communications Plan (see: http://au.fsc.org/indigenous-stakeholder-engagement-project.301.htm) The plan recommended establishment of an Indigenous Advisory Group (IAG) as group organisation enabled many voices to be heard and respected cultural issues surrounding representation.

Work is still going ahead on developing an IAG and the implementation of an engagement strategy for ensuring Indigenous voices and issues are properly reflected in the standards development process. Social Chamber representatives in the SDG will be responsible for liaising with the IAG and any stakeholders to ensure this.

FSC Australia is committed to deepening and strengthening Indigenous engagement and participation at all levels. Following review of the Indigenous Communications plan and further consultation with the authors, as well as FSC International, FSC Australia is looking at extending the scope of the plan over several years and expanding it beyond national standards development. This includes increased participation in governance and identifying opportunities for creating socio-economic benefits through domestic and international FSC projects. Further announcements will be made in the near future regarding this.

If you have any questions or feedback please contact Daniel at dmackey@fscaustralia.org