Over 750 FSC Members and leaders from Indigenous Peoples’ Organizations, Trade Unions, Environmental groups, Companies, and individuals came together during the 9th FSC General Assembly (GA) in Bali Indonesia from October 9-14, 2022.
The FSC General Assembly, FSC’s highest decision-making authority brings to life, FSC’s core strength of being a community for co-creation: convening members and partners from diverse interests to set global benchmarks for forest stewardship and deliver meaningful results for the forests and the people who depend on them.
The FSC General Assembly typically takes place every three years but was postponed due to the pandemic with the last in-person GA having taken place in Canada in 2017. The 2021-2022 GA was the first opportunity since then for FSC’s global membership to come together, and the first hybrid GA in the history of FSC, which allowed Members to participate and vote remotely.
During the general assembly participants engaged in a diverse programme under the theme of ‘Shaping Solutions for Resilient Forests.’
Members' Assembly, Voting and Motions
At the core of the general assembly, is the Members Assembly, which highlighted FSC’s unique chamber balanced democratic governance system in action. FSC Members from all three chambers (Social, Economic and Environmental) used their voting power to determine which motions (proposals for new work areas or improvements to the FSC system) would be passed for implementation, bringing change, and setting the future direction of FSC. View a list of motion outcomes here.
Keynote sessions, side events and exhibitions
Participants also engaged in a variety of keynote sessions, side events and exhibitions during the week which focused on exploring solutions to challenges related to forests, including biodiversity loss, social inequities, and climate change.
- A keynote on Scaling up Forest-Based Solutions for Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss and Forest Degradation explored the elements of the FSC Global Strategy 2021-2026 aimed at expanding the reach of FSC’s relevance in the fight against climate change and loss of biodiversity as well as the significant role of partnerships and collaboration in moving forward.
- ‘Transforming Forest Solutions Together with Indigenous Peoples, Communities, Smallholders, and Workers’ was another central topic. A keynote session celebrated people, highlighting the stewards who play a crucial role in the responsible use of forests as well as the people who are part of the value chain for forest-based materials. Stories from the ground included those on workers’ rights, giving a voice to smallholders as well as Indigenous Peoples rights. The conversation continued through various side events.
- Demonstrating the Value of Forests, Forest Products and Services as Catalysts for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was addressed during a keynote which explored FSC’s relevance to the SDGs from different perspectives including voices from intergovernmental organizations, businesses, NGOs, governments and the financial sector on how FSC solutions can become more relevant and better suited to meet the needs of global agendas as well as the role of markets, partnerships, and collaboration.
A successful week of shaping solutions together
Reflecting on the week, Zandra Martinez said: “This GA has demonstrated how committed we as FSC and all our members remain to ensuring responsible management of the world’s forests. It has demonstrated the power of our democratic and participative system in bringing diverse perspectives together to find solutions that put forests first.”
Take a deeper dive into what was discussed by exploring ga.fsc.org or learn more in this video where FSC Director General Kim Carstensen and FSC Members share their insights and perspectives on the significance of the FSC General Assembly.
Source: FSC Canada