The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international accreditation association incorporated in 1995, first started considering the term high conservation values in 1996.
The Spanish version uses the terms bosques con alto valor de conservación (forests with high value of conservation) and bosques con alto valor para la conservación (forests with high value for conservation).
[2] In lieu of formal guidance from FSC, there has been a proliferation of discussion on HCVF, led mainly by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
[4] This definition provides a new approach to the zonation of HCVF as well as introduces the concept of ‘High Conservation Value’.
Indeed, despite the provision for partial zonation, the Global Toolkit makes it clear that for the purposes of certification, any forest management unit containing even one small HCV is classified as a High Conservation Value Forest, which brings into play extra requirements for consultation, maintenance or enhancement, and annual monitoring.