FSC Seeks Input on Changes to Requirements for Intact Forest Landscapes

This consultation is part of the implementation of Motion 45, adopted in 2025, which aims to evolve the FSC’s approach to the conservation of Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL). The goal is, in particular, to move beyond an approach based primarily on fixed protection thresholds toward one that is more conservation-results-based and tailored to different ecological and social contexts.

In this context, the FSC has revised its guidance document ADV-STD-60-004_02 V2-0, which addresses the enhanced management and monitoring of Category 2 High Conservation Values (HCV 2) within IFLs. The new provisions apply to four countries particularly affected by these issues: Brazil, Canada, Peru, and the Republic of the Congo.

The proposed changes focus in particular on: 

the identification of characteristics contributing to the ecological integrity of landscapes ;
the consideration of sociocultural values;
management measures to maintain these values;
mechanisms for monitoring and adaptive management;
the consideration of regional specificities, particularly between boreal and tropical forests.

For stakeholders in the Congo Basin, this consultation therefore warrants special attention. For several years now, the rules governing IFLs have been a major issue for FSC-certified forest concessions operating within large, largely unfragmented forest massifs. The shift toward a more results-based approach could have concrete implications for how these areas are identified, managed, and monitored within forest management units.

The public consultation is now open

The FSC officially launched the public consultation on September 11, 2026. It will run through October 10, 2026, and is available in French, English, and Spanish.

Beyond the content of the revised guidance document, the FSC is specifically seeking stakeholder input on the monitoring requirements for ecological integrity and sociocultural values. The consultation focuses in particular on the level of detail and regionalization needed to ensure sufficiently robust and consistent monitoring data and results, while maintaining measures that are proportionate and applicable to different ecological and management contexts.

For stakeholders in the Congo Basin, these issues are particularly important to ensure that future requirements allow for the credible demonstration of management outcomes, while remaining adapted to the operational realities of tropical forest concessions.

Participate in the consultation

A Webinar on September 14

The FSC will present the content of the revised guidance document as well as the procedures for participating in the consultation during a webinar:

September 14, 2026

4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. CET

Online – Zoom

Interpretation available in French, English, and Spanish

FSC particularly encourages participation from certificate holders, certification bodies, representatives of Indigenous peoples, environmental and social stakeholders, and experts with experience in managing and monitoring HCVs 2 and IFLs.

Register for the webinar

View document ADV-STD-60-004_02 V2-0

Learn more about the revision process

The public consultation will soon be available on the FSC consultation platform.