The Forest Stewardship Council Australia regrets to announce that Standards Development Group (SDG) member Aidan Flanagan has resigned from his representation of the Social Chamber, due to work commitments that mean he will not be able to fulfill his role. Aidan has been a highly valued contributor and we thank him for his work and wish him all the best in his new role.
Process for Replacement:
The FSC Australia Board has approved the process for appointing Aidan’s replacement so that the group can continue its work. The process will be identical to that undertaken when the group was originally constituted in 2013. Upon publication of this Expression of Interest applications will be open for 4 weeks, closing on the 25th of February. If more than one application that meets the selection criteria is received, a ballot will be opened for Social Chamber members to vote.
Selection Criteria:
SDG members are chosen for their experience and ability to represent key interest areas that are important to FSC’s values and policies. During the first round of SDG Appointments three social chamber seats were designated for individuals with expertise and interest in worker’s rights, regional forest communities and indigenous rights. Despite proactive attempts to recruit we did not receive an application for the indigenous policy seat. The FSC Australia Board decided to fill the seat with a second applicant for the regional forest communities seat given that both policy areas fall under FSC’s work regarding the rights of local communities as affected stakeholders, along with the decision to devote additional resources to FSC Australia’s Indigenous Engagement (http://au.fsc.org/indigenous-stakeholder-engagement-project.301.htm)
The Board has decided to take this opportunity to once again fill the seat with an individual experienced with forestry policy and issues related to the rights and interests of indigenous communities. However, noting the importance of filling this seat in the shortest reasonable timeframe and the challenges faced previously, the Board is also open to receiving alternate applications from individuals experienced with forestry policy and issues related to the rights and interests of regional forest communities. Should eligible applications not be received for the indigenous policy seat, the alternate applications will be assessed and open for ballot.
For more Information: http://au.fsc.org/expressions-of-interest-standards-development-group-replacement.377.htm