Despite the military aggression of Russian Federation against Ukraine, FSC Ukraine and other members of FSC system continue to be active and demonstrate a high level of resilience in this extraordinary situation. Moreover, the ongoing reforms have exacerbated uncertainty in forestry sector and increased the importance of FSC's mission.
A significant part of our country's territory has been affected by military operations (as demonstrated on the SES interactive map), this has resulted in contamination with explosive ordnance and elevated risk of forest megafires. FSC has found an opportunity to adjust its system to ensure the safety of people and the environment in the areas under threat. Illegal logging in such areas and other unauthorized activities increase degradation of forest ecosystems and destabilize the system of responsible forest management. In this aspect, FSC has also found ways to counter threats to the integrity of its system.
Our priorities
The priorities set out in the FSC Global Strategy 2021-2026 are becoming even more relevant for Ukraine, and increasingly larger efforts are needed to achieve them in the current environment. These priorities are related to strengthening the integrity of the certification system, increasing the involvement of society in creating joint solutions, and increasing the importance of FSC at the national level and in the transformational processes of green and circular economy development. In particular, to implement the priority of strengthening integrity, it is necessary to continue systematic work on implementing the risk-based approach to certification and testing the latest supply chain integrity tools. The relevance of strengthening public involvement is driven by the importance of making sustainable and forward-looking decisions aimed at creating a responsible future for forests and finding compromises considering a wide range of forest values. The focus of the state forest policy on sustainable forest management increases the importance of integrating FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard not only into forest management practices, but also into the system of legislation and government decisions. In the context of the development of a green and circular economy, FSC certification is a catalyst for transformation processes and an opportunity to implement the principle of sustainability in the Recovery Plan for Ukraine.
Our steps towards preserving and maintaining the FSC system
We act together to uphold values. From the first day of the Russian aggression against our country, FSC Ukraine raised the issue with FSC International and network partners about the facts of undermining the fundamental principles of the rule of law, human rights and democratic decision-making processes. Following an extensive consultation process, FSC International Board of Directors has decided that no FSC-certified material or controlled wood from Russia will be traded until the attack stops.
The clear position of the FSC international members from Ukraine and the commitment to our values of other members of the system determined the possibility of maintaining FSC certification in Ukraine. Comprehensive changes to the FSC normative framework in accordance with the decision on Ukraine has enabled continuation of ensuring responsible forest management in areas not affected by the military conflict and maintaining the integrity of supply chains. The intensification of forestry activities contributed to the resumption of forest certification in the territories affected by the full-scale invasion of Russia, subject to excision from the scope of certification of areas contaminated by explosive ordnance.
We maintain the integrity of the system. The outlined challenges have increased the urgency of integrating the risk-based approach into the certification system: from global to local levels through streamlining the normative framework and applying multiple tools. Today, FSC Ukraine remains an active supporter of this approach and an initiator of innovations.
Many years of work on the development of the risk-based approach were implemented primarily in strengthening the requirements of certification bodies to assess applicants and certificate holders for their credibility in order to ensure the integrity of supply chains. Accordingly, the updated " Policy on Association" as a part of the normative framework contains elements of the approach tested in Ukraine.
For the purposes of risk-based forest management audits, which are an initiative of FSC Ukraine, it is important to use public information and geographic information system tools. This will enable certification bodies to identify critical points of forest management and determine the risks of non-compliance with FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard at the stage of preparation for certification assessment. The “Guidelines for Risk-Based Audits in Ukraine” currently being tested by certification bodies provide auditors with tools to collect data related to the organization's forest management, facilitate preliminary screening for better field assessment and adjust their work to take into account risk factors and areas requiring attention.
Through educational events (trainings, seminars) and a broad consultation process, the risk-based approach is becoming part of the management systems of forestry and wood-processing companies. For example, the workshop "Risk-based approach in FSC forest management certification" confirmed the importance of developing risk-based management procedures by certificate holders for the proper implementation of FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard and applying a risk-based approach in planning and conducting audits by certification bodies.
The relevance of this sphere is evidenced by changes in FSC normative framework, including the introduction of a risk-based approach to the Forest Stewardship Standard.
Along with the risk-based approach, the extraordinary situation in Ukraine and integrity threats to the system required extraordinary measures and promotion of coordination between certification bodies. FSC Ukraine's efforts in this regard were aimed at developing appropriate interpretations and providing a communication platform for certification bodies. As a result, a common understanding of the requirements for identification of military conflict zones and application of the Excision Policy for areas contaminated by explosive ordnance has become a significant contribution to certification practice in Ukraine and worldwide.
We energize the dialog with stakeholders. International FSC members, whom FSC Ukraine is actively working to engage, provide strong support for FSC's mission in our country and express public and professional opinion on responsible forestry under martial law. Their active position at the international level, including participation in the FSC General Assembly and multilateral meetings at the regional level, kept the extraordinary situation in Ukraine in focus and contributed to the resolution of pressing issues.
In particular, Professor Sergiy Zibtsev, an international FSC member and leader in the sphere of forest fire management in Eastern Europe, has made a significant contribution to responsible forest management in Ukraine in the context of the armed conflict and other modern threats, including forest fires. This activity is carried out through dialogue with the government, scientific and professional community within the framework of the Forest Europe regional initiative, the IUFRO World Congress and communication with other influential organizations in the field of forestry and labor protection.
“More than 20 years of successful experience of FSC in Ukraine and the system’s comprehensive approach, which contributes to the achievement of 14 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, gives stakeholders confidence in its capacity to overcome challenges and support the mission of promoting responsible forest management”, said Professor Sergiy Zibtsev.
A visit to Ukraine by Lieske van Santen, a member of FSC International governing body and director of the Global Network, was important for consolidating stakeholders, including state forest management bodies, in order to preserve forest certification and maintain the integrity of the system. Numerous meetings with representatives of public organizations, scientific and educational institutions held during this visit helped to strengthen confidence in certification and find consensus on its functioning and development in Ukraine.
The new stage of reforming the management system of forestry branch as a response to current challenges involved strengthening communication between stakeholders - state forest management authorities, certificate holders, and certification bodies. FSC's constructive and open position on forest reform issues contributed to a deeper understanding of the role of each participant in the forest certification system in achieving the goals of responsible forest management.
With the support and coordination of FSC Ukraine, a decision was made to retain the current certification model, whereby individual local branches rather than the united state enterprise or its regional offices should hold certificates. This model reduces the risks of non-compliance with FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard requirements and increases the responsibility of certificate holders to the environment and society.
Our objectives
We realize that the fulfillment of these tasks will take place simultaneously with elimination of the negative consequences of the military conflict and implementation of the Recovery Plan for Ukraine. Forests and responsible forest management play a crucial role in ensuring sustainable economic growth and improving social welfare.
In this context, our efforts will continue to focus on bringing together stakeholders to strengthen their influence on the development and implementation of forest policy. We plan to organize a multilateral discussion platform to reach an understanding in resolving complex and often conflictual situations regarding forests.
Our focus will be on maintaining responsible forestry during the war and post-war period. In particular, a project has already been launched to develop requirements for excision of areas from certification. These are areas contaminated by explosive ordnance in those parts of Ukraine where it is impossible to ensure compliance with the FSC national forest stewardship standard due to threats to people and nature.
We will strengthen the European integration aspirations of the forestry branch by promoting FSC tools to increase transparency and openness, to comply with zero tolerance to corruption risks, and to strengthen the innovative component of traceability in supply chains. The geographic information system tool for remote sensing, which FSC Ukraine is actively implementing, will strengthen information support for implementation of FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard for Ukraine and the new EU legislation on preventing deforestation.
We will not stand aside from the fundamental changes in forestry initiated by the reform in forest governance sphere. In close coordination with partners and international FSC members, we will contribute to the development of principles and approaches to strategic development of the SE "Forests of Ukraine" in terms of ensuring forest management in accordance with the requirements of FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard. This will create the basis for the branches to fulfill their obligations within the framework of their commitment to FSC values.
Further implementation of the risk-based approach to all components of certification will require our efforts to integrate normative requirements on risk into FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard, promote the use of risk-based audits by certification bodies, and improve the management system of certificate holders in line with the modern theoretical and practical approaches, and FSC values. In particular, the launch of a project to integrate the best practices of responsible forestry in accordance with FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard into the management system will help improve management and industry practices and achieve a number of positive effects on preserving environmental values, adapting the system to climate change, and preventing degradation of forest ecosystems.
Expanding the expert and advisory capacity of scientific and educational community to support positive changes in practical implementation of FSC National Forest Stewardship Standard and their consolidation is also among the tasks of FSC Ukraine. Continuation of events in the last year's format (webinar on opportunities for stakeholder participation in forest certification) and other formats is our contribution to the implementation of this priority.
These priorities are related to strengthening the integrity of certification system, increasing the involvement of society in creating joint solutions, and increasing the importance of FSC at the state level and in the transformational processes of green and circular economy development. In the context of green and circular economy development, FSC certification is a catalyst for transformation processes and an opportunity to implement the sustainability principle of the Recovery Plan for Ukraine.
The priorities of the green and circular economy as a model for the country's development require a transformation in the system of production and consumption. Preferring renewable resources and responsible sources of origin will improve the environment, increase public trust and become a competitive advantage for businesses. In this context, one of the key areas of FSC Ukraine's work will be with architects, designers, and developers. We expect that the decisions of these stakeholders will contribute to implementation of sustainable practices in construction, in particular, to increase the share of FSC-certified products in project proposals for planning of urban spaces.
Implementation of these and other tasks is a contribution to the country's reconstruction and modernization, which requires a renewed philosophy of attitude to the environment, changes in social relations towards the integration of democratic principles in all spheres of state activity, and increased support for the rights and freedoms of citizens. FSC's values will continue to be a catalyst for these processes, uniting civil society in forest conservation and ensuring responsible forestry for the needs of the present and future generations.