Environmental Risk Assessment to reduce monitoring costs for ...

Environmental Risk
Assessment
to reduce monitoring costs
for community forests
Matthew Wenban-Smith
Timothy Synnott
Estudios
Forestales
Synnott

The problem ….
• FSC requires environmental
impact assessments and/or
biological monitoring in Principles
6, 8 & 9.
• These communities do not have
the financial or technical
resources to comply with the
conditions set by the certifiers.
• So, communities are unable to
maintain their certificates with the
necessary credibility

Proposed solution:
• Evaluate the degree of risk, without insisting
on new impact assessment and monitoring
when the risks are clearly very low.
• Evaluate the risks on the basis of information
already available, local experience and
research, without requiring repetitive studies
in each FMU

Project Objective:
to help demonstrate compliance with FSC
requirements
A system for evaluating the risk of
unacceptable environmental impacts in
certified forests:
- Simple and practical: a method suitable for
communities and their technical advisers.
- Reliable results, with scientific credibility,
acceptable to certifiers, FSC, NGOs …

The generic ERA System for forest
management
• Identify the Environmental Values that
can be affected by management:
- For example: commercial species; rare,
threatened & endangered species &
habitats; water; soils; landscapes …

The generic ERA System for forest
management
2. For each environmental value, identify
objectives or goals for acceptable compliance
with FSC requirements:
e.g.:
- Commercial species: maintain long term viable
population.
- Endangered species: maintain or increase.
- Water: no detectable change in pH,
temperature or contaminants.
- Soils: No increase in erosion or compaction.

The generic ERA System for
forest management
2. Identify Stress Factors (activities with
impacts that affect the identified
environmental values):
e.g.: Cutting timber trees, extraction,
roads, hunting, harvest of NTFPs, fires,
agricultural encroachment, rubbish …

The generic ERA System for
forest management
4. Scale and Intensity: (criteria 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 8.1)
For all the most important Stress
Factors, design a scoring system, on a
scale of 0,1, 2, 3, low / medium / high
for:
- Scale or frequency of the impact,
- Intensity of the impact.

Scoring for Scale and Intensity:
• Scale or frequency: e.g. timber harvesting
Felling cycle: > 50 years: low
20-50 years medium
< 20 years high
• Intensity:
Logging: < 2 m3/ha low
2–6 m3/ha medium
> 6 m3/ha high

The generic ERA System for forest
management
1. Identify potential Mitigation Measures
For example:
Reduced Impact Logging; Community
Conservation Areas; Enrichment
planting; hunting controls …

The generic ERA System for forest
management
6. Identify potential special Vulnerabilities in
the region (Criteria 6.2, 6.2, 8.1)
- Unusually vulnerable soils
- Unusually steep slopes
- Especially sensitive species
- Endangered habitats or ecosystems

How forest managers can use it
• Complete FMU information
checklist (presence/ absence of
vulnerabilities)
• Score each Stress Factor as low,
medium, high (or not applicable)
for Scale/ Frequency and
Intensity
• Complete the Mitigation
Measures checklist (presence/
absence of mitigation measures
in FMU)
• Review the results in Excel.
• Decide on the need for
monitoring and/or mitigation.

Step 1. Complete FMU information
checklist…

Step 2. Score each Stress Factor…

Step 3. Complete mitigation
measures checklist…

Step 4. Review the results in
Excel…

Results expected from this project
• Highlight the Stress
Factors / Impacts that
create most risk.
• Highlight the
Environmental Values
that are most at risk.
• Identify the mitigation
measures or other
actions most suitable
for reducing risks.

Project reports:
The latest versions of all project
documents are freely available in
English and Spanish
www.oneworldstandards.com/
ERA.htlm

Any questions?
Estudios
Forestales
Synnott