Forest Certification Assessors’ Training, May 1-4, 2007

Background

In the recent years forest certification has developed into one of the most important tools for safeguarding valuable forest resources through sustainable forest management. Forest certification, originally presented by the environmental NGOs, is today a mainstream, and supported worldwide by major producers and buyers by proving that forest management is environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable. Forest management can be certified, and products can be sold on the market with a internationally recognized label of products from “good forestry practice”, which have been developed for both large scale and small forest owners and it make a contribution to 5% of the world's forest in good forestry management practices.

The driving force in forest certification is the demand from “green consumers”, however, forest certification today is mainly used as a business-to business tool, where companies can ensure environmental and social responsibility in the corporate strategy for purchasing forest-based products.

Along with Rainforest Alliance, ANSAB is organizing training on Forest Certification Assessors from 1 to 4 May, 2007. The training provides a unique opportunity to professionals interested in forest certification assessment regionally.

Objectives

The main objective of the training program is to support the development of regional capacity in assessing the sustainable forest management and responsible industries.

The specific objectives of the training program are to contribute to:

· To develop regional capacity for the implementation of forest certification (FC) and international standards

· To expose participants in internal and external assessment and auditing process and methods of FSC sustainable forest management

· To capacitate trainees on assessing the responsible business practices and chain of custody certification

· To provide skill and knowledge on group certification assessment and small scale forestry operation

Facilitator of the training:

Rainforest Alliance is, a leading organization in FSC forest management and chain of custody certification and the pioneer in NTFP certification, has been extending its extensive experience and expertise in certification to the alliance for NTFP certification in . Mr.Walter Smith, Senior Technical Specialist at SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance will be a lead facilitator of the training along with Nepali certification leader Dr. Bhishma P. Subedi and his team.

Rainforest Alliance, which is one of the leading environmental NGOs, has long experience in forest certification. The Rainforest Alliance endorses Forest Stewardship Council certification, which assures consumers that the forest products they purchase come from forests managed to conserve biodiversity and support local communities, while constantly striving toward more sustainable practices. The Rainforest Alliance’s certification program, SmartWood, was founded in 1989 to certify responsible forestry practices and now focuses on providing a variety of certification tools. To improve certification’s effectiveness as a tool for biodiversity conservation and economic support for local communities, the Rainforest Alliance also established the Training, Research, Extension, Education and Systems Program. In addition, the Rainforest Alliance works to strengthen supply chains and build market linkages for certified wood and forest products, by helping companies incorporate sustainability into their sourcing strategies.

Course Contents and Process

· History of forest certification

· Organizations for forest certification

· Forest certification standards and process

· Field practices of assessment and audit

· Team presentation and report

The training will involve both theoretical and practical sessions including actual field exercises.

Who Should Attend

The course is designed for professionals from environment conservation, sociology and economics background and who are involved with programs or projects in which an understanding of sustainable forest management and forest certification for sustainable rural livelihoods is required. Past participants have come from NGOs, government agencies, universities and research institutions. The course will be taught in English, so a proficiency in spoken and written English is essential. Funding agencies are requested to carefully select candidates who will fully benefit from the training and women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Costs

The cost of the course is NRs 15000.00 for Nepali and $500 for international participants. This cost covers all course materials and training expenses, transportation to and from Kathmandu and Dolakha (the training venue), and meals, accommodation and transport incurred during the field visit. This cost does not cover transport to and from participant’s point of departure to Kathmandu in the above fee.

To Apply

Please complete the following form that is available here and submit to Ram Acharya atANSABResourceCenter – email: [email protected] , fax: 977-1-447 6586 or by post: ANSAB, P.O. Box 11035,Kathmandu,