Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies how to measure the change and trends when it comes to biodiversity in managed forest landscapes (one or several forest management unit(s)) on the organizational or aggregated level (the area of study). It includes:

• Determining the forest management unit(s),

• Identification and selection of relevant biodiversity indicators adapted to local conditions (related to both direct observations and management activities).

• Assessment of the current status and dynamics of biodiversity in relation to those indicators,

• Interpretation of change when it comes to biodiversity indicator results, including possible thresholds and impacts of interventions,

• Reporting format.

The methodology sets a framework which can be adjusted and adapted to local conditions. This document sets general requirements and provides overarching terminology.

This document includes information on how claims and declarations can be communicated based on this document, both within the value chain and to customers and consumers.

This document is intended to be used by organizations seeking to understand, commit to or contribute to biodiversity goals. These organizations can be either private or public, regardless of type or size, and located in any jurisdiction.

This document is not a tool that allows comparability between studies by e.g. giving absolute numbers.

Purpose

There is an increasing interest from society in biodiversity as is shown by several legislative initiatives on different levels (such as the CBD Kunming-Montreal on a global level and different regional initiatives, including the Nature restoration regulation and the Habitat Directive in the EU). For many, biodiversity loss is a driver for action as well as ambitions to improve the biodiversity. There are also pressures, such as climate change, on forest ecosystems which has driven science in studying the role of biodiversity in contributing to the resilience and health of forest ecosystems.

These drivers suggest that there is a need for organizations in the wood and wood-based products value chain to report regularly/continuously on forest biodiversity dynamics.

Standards and several other initiatives address biodiversity developments in general terms (e.g. ISO/TC 331 Biodiversity), or address generic reporting formats, often focussed on either set-aside land (conservation) or land use change.

This leaves a gap that this standard intends to fill by addressing forest management that does not lead to a land use change. Existing regulations often use generic indicators, such as “30 % of land should be protected”, without clear guidance or requirements for monitoring of progress of the actual status of biodiversity. They also typically focus on set-aside areas, not on the landscape as a whole. There are however exceptions, such as the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, which in Annex VI contains 7 indicators of biodiversity; standing deadwood, lying deadwood, share of forests with uneven-aged structure, connectivity, common forest birds index, share of forest dominated by native tree species, tree species diversity. Research on impacts of active forest management on biodiversity have often focussed on specific species and relatively short-term effects following forestry operations, even if there are exceptions. Thus, the research provides valuable insights but rarely show the overall picture.

None of the above provide operational tools that can be applied for standardized reporting by organizations on the effects of ongoing forest management (as opposed to land use change) at the landscape level. This is what the proposed standard aims to provide. The proposed standard could be used by organisations in the wood and wood-based products value chain to transparently report on their impact on biodiversity in the landscapes where wood is sourced for their products. This will complement the standard series on greenhouse gas dynamics (ISO 13391 series) enabling organizations to report in a similar way regarding their climate and biodiversity impacts (positive and negative).

To facilitate this, just like in the greenhouse gas dynamics standards, Forest Management Unit(s) (FMU) form the basis of reporting and relate to the landscape where wood is sourced as a whole. Landscape effects are the sum of impacts and developments following forest management interventions (or absence thereof). While the sum of impacts for the landscape as a whole (FMU) is the objective, biodiversity impacts at different scales should be considered, such as:

• Impacts at individual stand level

• Presence of different substrates and microhabitats

• Impact on individual species

• Impact on the natural environment outside of the FMU

The standard will set a methodology for interpreting variable data into overall biodiversity assessments. Improvements of, and inclusion of new, variables over time will be part of the methodology.

Designing specific and relevant variables for systematic measurement/systematic must be made at the local level, either for the FMU or for the forest region/type that is representative for the FMU. The standard will set a framework for this evaluation and selection criteria to be used. Local legislation/regulation may also influence the selection of variables.

The intention is to develop (a) Technical report(s) that provide detailed examples of variables for different forest regions/types and how these can be used in parallel with the development of the standard. This will serve the dual purpose of giving guidance to the users of the standard and testing the methodology.

The reporting in the standard will relate to the organization’s management interventions (or absence thereof) done in the current time period, and the effect these can have for the landscape as a whole over time. Impacts due to exceptional events such as uncontrollable wildfires, storms, droughts, floods, pests, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, also need to be accounted for. The standard might also be useful to assess the relationship between management activities, biodiversity dynamics, and mitigation of risks related to exceptional events.

The standard can help organizations that manage forest land when evaluating and considering different options related to forest management. It can also form the basis for assessment, reporting and communication regarding biodiversity along the wood and wood-based products value chain. The standard can also be adopted for compliance reporting under certification schemes and possibly also legislation.

This standard will align with and link to relevant existing standard initiatives, such as ISO/TC 331.