High conservation value forest

Last updated January 22, 2023

High conservation value forest (HCVF) is a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest management designation used to describe those forests who meet criteria defined by the FSC Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship.

forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant: concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g. endemism, endangered species, refugia); and/or large landscape-level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance
forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems
forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g. watershed protection, erosion control)
forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g. subsistence, health) and/or critical to local communities' traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities).^[1]

History

The denomination HCVF arose relatively recently in connection with the development of standards for the certification of forest management. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international accreditation association incorporated in 1995, first started considering the term high conservation values in 1996 ^[2]. FSC formally included the term high conservation value forests in the FSC Principles and Criteria of Forest Stewardship in January 1999.^[1]

A number of terms have been used somewhat interchangeably with the term HCVF. To a certain extent this arises from translation between languages and to a certain extent it arises from varying approaches at interpretation. The Spanish version uses the terms bosques con alto valor de conservación (forests with high value of conservation) and bosques con alto valor para la conservación (forests with high value for conservation).

As noted, the term HCVF arose following consideration of the term high conservation values; this usage led to the concept of forests having high conservation values and forests with high conservation values. Indeed, the term high conservation value is sometimes given its own acronym HCV; however, the FSC refers to an HCV as "attributes".

Examples

Examples of the large landscape globally important forests include the Canada boreal forest and the remaining Amazon rainforest.

Examples of forest types which embrace rare or endangered species include the Dry deciduous forests of Madagascar the two Monterey Cypress of central coastal California^[3] and the Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests of coastal California.

HCVF Toolkits

Following the inclusion of the term in the FSC P&C in 1999, the FSC formed an Advisory Panel for the Implementation of high conservation value forests and the precautionary principle. This panel produced a number of consultation documents on how to identify HCVF, including indicators and verifiers. However, this consultation process was not finalized and FSC has yet to issue any specific guidance regarding HCVF1.^[2]

In lieu of formal guidance from FSC, there has been a proliferation of discussion on HCVF, led mainly by non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In particular, the need for more precise and practical guidance led to a 2001 initiative by the UK-based consulting company, Proforest Ltd. This initiative led to the production of a three-part High Conservation Value Toolkit (the ‘Global Toolkit’).^[4] The Global Toolkit offered a revised definition of HCVF as follows:

A High Conservation Value Forest is the area of forest required to maintain or enhance a High Conservation Value.^[4]

This definition provides a new approach to the zonation of HCVF as well as introduces the concept of ‘High Conservation Value’. The inclusion of the term ‘area of forest’ provide clarity that there may be instances where an HCVF zone might be restricted to part of a forest, while the FSC definition implied that the presence of one or more HCV attribute would render the whole forest as to be a ‘high conservation value forest’. Indeed, despite the provision for partial zonation, the Global Toolkit makes it clear that for the purposes of certification, any forest management unit containing even one small HCV is classified as a High Conservation Value Forest, which brings into play extra requirements for consultation, maintenance or enhancement, and annual monitoring. However, the additional burden is determined by the nature of the HCV and will affect only those parts of the forest, and those aspects of management, that are required for the maintenance or enhancement of the HCV (this procedure is explained in more detail in the section on Adaptive Management, below).

There are six recognized forms of High conservation values forests:

HCV1. Forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g. endemism, endangered species, refugia).

HCV2. Forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant large landscape level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.

HCV3. Forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems.

HCV4. Forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g. watershed protection, erosion control).

HCV5. Forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g. subsistence, health).

HCV6. Forest areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities).^[4]

The Global Toolkit has not been explicitly endorsed by the FSC but the revised ordering system appears to have gained widespread appeal and there is a recommendation for its use in FSC reports found in a footnote to an FSC reporting standard.^[1] The Global Toolkit was intentionally designed for a wide range of users beyond the FSC scheme. Indeed, in December 2005, the popularity of the HCV approach led to the formation of the HCV Resource Network which includes a broad platform of NGOs as well as the World Bank and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).^[5]

High conservation value areas

The concept of a High conservation value forest has now been generalized and used by other certification schemes like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the Better Cotton Initiative, the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and Bonsucro, among others. Consumer goods companies (mainly members of the Consumer Goods Forum) have also made independent commitments to protecting High Conservation Values in their supply chains.

The analogous six High Conservation Values are:

HCV 1: Concentrations of biological diversity including endemic species, and rare, threatened or endangered species, that are significant at global, regional or national levels.
HCV 2: Intact forest landscapes and large landscape-level ecosystems and ecosystem mosaics that are significant at global, regional or national levels, and that contain viable populations of the great majority of the naturally occurring species in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.
HCV 3: Rare, threatened, or endangered ecosystems, habitats or refugia.
HCV 4: Basic ecosystem services in critical situations, including protection of water catchments and control of erosion of vulnerable soils and slopes.
HCV 5: Sites and resources fundamental for satisfying the basic necessities of local communities or indigenous peoples (for livelihoods, health, nutrition, water, etc...), identified through engagement with these communities or indigenous peoples.
HCV 6: Sites, resources, habitats and landscapes of global or national cultural, archaeological or historical significance, and/or of critical cultural, ecological, economic or religious/sacred importance for the traditional cultures of local communities or indigenous peoples, identified through engagement with these local communities or indigenous peoples.

Related Research Articles

Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international organizations involved. Generally speaking though, protected areas are understood to be those in which human presence or at least the exploitation of natural resources is limited.

This is an index of conservation topics. It is an alphabetical index of articles relating to conservation biology and conservation of the natural environment.

Habitat conservation is a management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore habitats and prevent species extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range. It is a priority of many groups that cannot be easily characterized in terms of any one ideology.

The Forest Stewardship Council GmbH (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-based used as a transnational environmental policy.

Ecosystem services are the many and varied benefits to humans provided by the natural environment and healthy ecosystems. Such ecosystems include, for example, agroecosystems, forest ecosystem, grassland ecosystems, and aquatic ecosystems. These ecosystems, functioning in healthy relationships, offer such things as natural pollination of crops, clean air, extreme weather mitigation, and human mental and physical well-being. Collectively, these benefits are becoming known as ecosystem services, and are often integral to the provision of food, the provisioning of clean drinking water, the decomposition of wastes, and the resilience and productivity of food ecosystems.

The Golden Gate Biosphere Network is an internationally recognized voluntary coalition of federal, state, and local government agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and private partners within the Golden Gate Biosphere (GGB) region. The Network works towards protecting the biosphere region’s biodiversity and conserving its natural resources to maintain the quality of life for people within the region. The Network has been part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme since 1988 and is part of the US Biosphere Network and EuroMAB. It is recognized by UNESCO due to the significant biodiversity of the region, as well as the Network's efforts to demonstrate and promote a balanced relationship between humans and the biosphere.

The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, was adopted December 1, 2003 to protect the Canadian boreal forest. The vision set out in the Framework is "to sustain the ecological and cultural integrity of the Canadian boreal region, in perpetuity." Its goal is to conserve the boreal region by: "protecting at least 50% of the region in a network of large interconnected protected areas, and supporting sustainable communities through world-leading ecosystem-based resource management practices and leading edge stewardship practices in the remaining landscape."

Sustainable forest management (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management has to keep the balance between three main pillars: ecological, economic and socio-cultural. Sustainable forestry can seem contradicting to some individuals as the act of logging trees is not sustainable. However, the goal of sustainable forestry is to allow for a balance to be found between ethical forestry and maintaining biodiversity through the means of maintaining natural patterns of disturbance and regeneration. Successfully achieving sustainable forest management will provide integrated benefits to all, ranging from safeguarding local livelihoods to protecting biodiversity and ecosystems provided by forests, reducing rural poverty and mitigating some of the effects of climate change. Forest conservation is essential to stop climate change.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sustainability:

EcoLogic Development Fund (EcoLogic), a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States, advances conservation of critical natural resources in rural Latin America by promoting sustainable livelihoods and strengthening community participation in environmental stewardship. EcoLogic was established to fulfill a mandate voiced by indigenous and environmental leaders at the 1992 Earth Summit to reduce the destruction of significant tropical ecosystems by advancing economic development and self-determination among communities living in and around threatened habitats. EcoLogic partners with local organizations to promote community-based management of forests and coastal ecosystems, often at the level of microwatersheds; direct water sources and the land cover that helps recharge and clean the water. Since 1993, EcoLogic has provided direct technical and financial assistance to over 5,000 rural communities and has helped to protect 2,000 water sources throughout Latin America.

Earthwatch Institute is an international environmental charity. Founded as Educational Expeditions International in 1971 by Bob Citron and Clarence Truesdale, Earthwatch supports hundreds of Ph.D. researchers across dozens of countries, conducting over 100,000 hours of research annually. Using the Citizen Science methodology, Earthwatch's mission statement is "to engage people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment." As such, it is one of the global underwriters of scientific field research in archaeology, paleontology, marine life, biodiversity, ecosystems and wildlife. For over forty years, Earthwatch has raised funds to recruit individuals, students, teachers, and corporate fellows to participate in critical field research to understand nature's response to accelerating global change.

An intact forest landscape (IFL) is an unbroken natural landscape of a forest ecosystem and its habitat–plant community components, in an extant forest zone. An IFL is a natural environment with no signs of significant human activity or habitat fragmentation, and of sufficient size to contain, support, and maintain the complex of indigenous biodiversity of viable populations of a wide range of genera and species, and their ecological effects.

Ecosystem management is an approach to natural resource management that aims to ensure the long-term sustainability and persistence of an ecosystems function and services while meeting socioeconomic, political, and cultural needs. Although indigenous communities have employed sustainable ecosystem management approaches for millennia, ecosystem management emerged formally as a concept in the 1990s from a growing appreciation of the complexity of ecosystems, as well as humans' reliance and influence on natural systems.

Livingstone is a national park and state conservation area located 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Wagga Wagga and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Mangoplah, in the South West Slopes region of south western New South Wales.

IUCN protected area categories, or IUCN protected area management categories, are categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Forest restoration is defined as “actions to re-instate ecological processes, which accelerate recovery of forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest” i.e. the end-stage of natural forest succession. Climax forests are relatively stable ecosystems that have developed the maximum biomass, structural complexity and species diversity that are possible within the limits imposed by climate and soil and without continued disturbance from humans. Climax forest is therefore the target ecosystem, which defines the ultimate aim of forest restoration. Since climate is a major factor that determines climax forest composition, global climate change may result in changing restoration aims.

Glenrock State Conservation Area is a protected conservation area located eight kilometres south of the central business district of Newcastle in the state of New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia. The park borders the coast and encompasses 534 hectares stretching from the residential suburbs of Merewether to Dudley within the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas.

Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary is a 2,926.9 km² (1,130.1 sq mi) protected area of mixed seasonal tropical forest in eastern Cambodia, located in Mondulkiri and Kratié provinces. The area was first established as Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area in 2002, later becoming Seima Protection Forest in 2009, finally becoming Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in 2016. The site is of national, regional, and global importance for a range of biodiversity, with more than 950 species recorded within the protected area. It is also the ancestral and contemporary home of a large number of the Bunong ethnic group.

The Réserve faunique des Chic-Chocs is a wildlife reserve of Quebec located in east of Parc national de la Gaspésie, in the administrative region of Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine, in Quebec, Canada.

References

1 2 3 FSC-STD-01-001 (April 2004)
1 2 T.J. Synnott. 2005. Some notes on the early years of FSC. Saltillo, Mexico, 19 November. 54 pp.
↑ C.Michael Hogan and Michael P. Frankis. 2009. Monterey Cypress: Cupressus macrocarpa, GlobalTwitcher.com ed. N. Stromberg
1 2 3 S. Jennings, R. Nussbaum, N. Judd and T. Evans. 2003. The High Conservation Value Forest Tool Kit. ProForest, Oxford, UK.
↑ "Home". hcvnetwork.org.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[fsc-1] 1 2 3 FSC-STD-01-001 (April 2004)

[synott-2] 1 2 T.J. Synnott. 2005. Some notes on the early years of FSC. Saltillo, Mexico, 19 November. 54 pp.

[3] C.Michael Hogan and Michael P. Frankis. 2009. Monterey Cypress: Cupressus macrocarpa, GlobalTwitcher.com ed. N. Stromberg

[jennings-4] 1 2 3 S. Jennings, R. Nussbaum, N. Judd and T. Evans. 2003. The High Conservation Value Forest Tool Kit. ProForest, Oxford, UK.

[5] "Home". hcvnetwork.org.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]