(HCVF) Toolkit for Malaysia - HCV Resource Network
(HCVF) Toolkit for Malaysia - HCV Resource Network
(HCVF) Toolkit for Malaysia - HCV Resource Network
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Introduction<br />
1.1 Objective<br />
The High Conservation Value Forest (<strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong>) <strong>Toolkit</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Malaysia</strong> aims to provide an overview of the<br />
practical guidance available to <strong>for</strong>est managers and other stakeholders to identify, manage, and monitor<br />
<strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong>s in <strong>Malaysia</strong> as specified by various national and international standards of <strong>for</strong>est management.<br />
In particular, the toolkit is intended to help <strong>for</strong>est managers comply with Principle 9 in both the Forest<br />
Stewardship Council (FSC) and the <strong>Malaysia</strong>n Criteria and Indicators <strong>for</strong> Forest Management Certification<br />
[MC&I(2002)], the standard adopted by the National Steering Committee <strong>for</strong> the certification of natural<br />
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<strong>for</strong>ests in <strong>Malaysia</strong> .<br />
1.2 Background<br />
The <strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong> concept is being promoted and applied by schemes involved in the certification of responsible<br />
<strong>for</strong>est management in <strong>Malaysia</strong>. However, it is generally felt that there is insufficient guidance on the<br />
implementation of the <strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong> concept. A series of workshops and meetings were held to initiate and<br />
facilitate the development of a <strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong> toolkit <strong>for</strong> <strong>Malaysia</strong>. These ef<strong>for</strong>ts were spearheaded by WWF-<br />
<strong>Malaysia</strong> who has <strong>for</strong>med a Technical Working Group to develop this toolkit.<br />
This toolkit is the outcome of various stages of review and consultation. After internally reviewing the 1st<br />
Draft, an expert review (written feedback on the 2nd Draft was received from 12 individuals/organisations)<br />
and a two-day expert group discussion was held in May 2008 (see list of participants in Appendix 12) to<br />
produce the 3rd Draft. Separate stakeholder consultations <strong>for</strong> Peninsular <strong>Malaysia</strong>, Sabah and Sarawak<br />
provided input <strong>for</strong> the 4th Draft. Further comments resulted in a 5th Draft, and a final, national-level<br />
consultation, involving all stakeholders, produced the 6th and Final Draft (see Appendix 13 <strong>for</strong> list of<br />
participants).<br />
1.3 Overview of <strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong><br />
Besides their economic value, <strong>for</strong>ests also contain environmental and social values, such as wildlife<br />
habitat, watershed protection and cultural significance. Areas within <strong>for</strong>ests where these values are<br />
considered to be of outstanding significance or of critical importance based on an agreed set of criteria<br />
can be defined as High Conservation Value Forest (<strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong>) areas. Identifying these values, knowing to<br />
whom these values are considered important, and locating the <strong>for</strong>est areas which harbour these values<br />
is the essential first step <strong>for</strong> the effective assessment and management of these values.<br />
The <strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong> concept was initially developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) <strong>for</strong> use in <strong>for</strong>est<br />
management certification. Within FSC certification, <strong>for</strong>est managers are required to identify any <strong><strong>HCV</strong>F</strong><br />
attribute that occur within their individual <strong>for</strong>est management units and manage them in order to maintain<br />
or enhance the attributes identified. The FSC definition encompasses exceptional or critical ecological<br />
attributes, ecosystem services and social functions.<br />
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Lists of most of the relevant legislation and associated guidelines are included in the MC&I(2002).<br />
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