The FSC Principles and Criteria may be applied to all forests of different sizes and production intensity. The Small and Low Intensity Forest Management (SLIMF) designation for forest management units is a response to the realities and needs of small and low intensity managed forests.

Individual certification procedures for SLIMFs follow the basic certification process but have important differences in the procedures for certification and the standards that are used to assess good forest management. FSC offers two ways to minimize the costs of FSC certification and make it viable proposition for small and low intensity managed forests.

First, the auditing procedures for certification have been streamlined resulting in direct cost-savings in certification procedures for smallholders. Secondly, FSC stipulates that all National Standards for forest management certification now contain indicators that are specific to SLIMF operations. These indicators are designed to create modified requirements for SLIMFs that take into account the size and intensity of these operations.

Defining ‘small’ and ‘low intensity’ for FSC certification

The interpretation of FSC Principles and Criteria takes account of the scale and intensity of forest management. Thus, the definition of ‘small’ and ‘low intensity’ can vary between national standards. Generally, small forests are those less than 100 ha in size but can be as much as 1,000 ha in size (depending on the country). Low intensity refers to a harvesting rate of less than 20% of the mean annual growth in timber, and either an annual harvest or an annual average harvest of less than 5,000 cubic meters (averaged over the certificate lifetime). Forests used solely for harvesting non-timber forest products also qualify regardless of size or intensity. Plantations for non-timber forest products do not qualify.