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The History of FSC-US

Selaginella braunii, one of the more common ferns in North American forests.

In the days leading up to and following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, world attention was focused on the challenges faced by cultures around the globe as demands on their natural resources increased. Poverty, disease, land use change, climate change, and pollution all continue to threaten our resources and the stability of cultures worldwide. The challenges at Rio remain largely unmet. However, the conversations that occurred there contributed to one solution - the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Driven in part by the failure of an intergovernmental process to agree on a global forest compact, and the compelling question-“what is sustainable forestry?”- loggers, foresters, environmentalists, and sociologists came together in the first General Assembly to form the FSC in 1993.

The Forest Stewardship Council was created to change the dialogue about and the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide. This impressive goal has in many ways been achieved, yet there is more work to be done. FSC sets forth principles, criteria, and standards that span economic, social, and environmental concerns. The FSC standards represent the world’s strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes. Like the forestry profession itself, the FSC system includes stakeholders with a diverse array of perspectives on what represents a well-managed and sustainable forest. While the discussion continues, the FSC standards for forest management have now been applied in over 57 countries around the world.

In 1995, FSC-US, located in Washington, D.C., was established as the national “chapter” of FSC.

It’s purpose is to coordinate the development of forest management standards throughout the different biogeographic regions of the U.S., to provide public information about certification and FSC, and to work with certification organizations to promote FSC certification in the U.S.FSC-US has a national presence through the work of its Board of Directors, members, staff, and regional standards coordinators.

The FSC’s international headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. FSC has contact person and national offices in more than 40 countries, creating a global FSC network. For more information on FSC at the international level, please visit www.fsc.org.