English - HCV Resource Network

Guidance
Output
When change to a forest can potentially cause an
irreversible change to traditional local culture, then
the forest should be designated a HCVF.
Critical forest may include areas:
• Well established and agreed community
protected forest areas (protecting sense of
self-governance)
• Pristine/virgin forest areas where no viable
alternative pristine areas exist (protecting
sense of remoteness, history of
hunting/gathering/traveling in virgin areas)
• Specific areas considered sacred or
perceived to have spiritual/supernatural
connections, such as protected graveyards
• Specific areas that have historically been
actively governed and regulated
• Specific areas with remnants from the past
linked to the identity of an ethnic group,
such as statues, megaliths, temples,
graveyards, etc.
Several forests may be culturally important to local
communities, but not all will be critical.
• Non-critical forest areas may include areas:
• Recently established (less than 3
generations or 30 years) protected and
sacred areas
• Forest areas used by recently established
villages (less than 3 generations) or
communities that frequently move following
exhaustion of agricultural land
• Non-timber forest product gathering areas
where many other potential collection areas
exist
• Used to collect non-timber forest products
where these products can be gathered or
grown in non-forest areas
• Used to collect non-timber forest products
where alternative materials can be
substituted without detrimental impacts
If forest areas are determined
to be critical to a community’s
culture and when changes to a
specific forest can cause
irreversible change to culture,
then the forest area will be
designated as HCVF.
When forests are culturally
important to local
communities, but particular
forest areas are determined to
be non-critical, the forest area
will not be considered as an
HCVF.
Management and monitoring of HCV6
The management and monitoring recommendations for protecting the high conservation
values identified above are the same as those described to protect HCV5. See
Management and Monitoring of HCV5 above.