Small and Low Intensity Managed Forests - FSC SLIMF
The FSC system applies to all forests of different sizes (large, medium, small) and different management intensities (such as managing for timber, conservation or non-timber forest products). 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. Small and low intensity forestry is practiced by many people around the world. Currently, of the 7 million non-industrial private forest landowners in the USA, 6.4 million have forest holdings smaller than 40 hectares. In Japan, there are 2.5 million household forest holdings, 90% of which are less than 2 hectares. In Mexico and Papua New Guinea, indigenous and local communities own 80% and 90% of the forests, respectively.
FSC offers streamlined procedures for SLIMF forest management operations. This keeps the cost of certification down and makes FSC certification a viable proposition for all forest operations of all sizes. The size and intensity of operations are also taken into consideration in the development of SLIMF indicators for national standards.
Small forests are those less than 100 to 1,000 ha in size (depending on the country). Low management 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 less than 5,000 cubic meters (averaged over the certificate lifetime). Forests used solely for harvesting non-timber forest products also qualify. Plantations for non-timber forest products, however, do not.
See FSC documents related to SLIMFs:
› FSC STD 01 003 V1 0 EN SLIMF Eligibility Criteria
› FSC-STD-01-003a EN SLIMF Eligibility Criteria Addendum 2010-02-24
› FSC-GUI-60-001 V1-0 EN Interpretation of the FSC P+C to Take Account of Small Scale and Low Intensity
