Excellence For Forests Training Programme

Our shared vision

More forests managed responsibly and more sustainable forest product supply chains

Our solution

Improved awareness and capacity for forest governance, responsible forest management and sustainable supply chains

 

Powered by

Knowledgeable and responsible professionals

The issue

The world’s forests are under huge pressure – from agricultural commodity production, illegal logging, a changing climate, poor governance and unsustainable forest management practices.

According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), tropical forest cover decreased by more than 195 million hectares (ha) between 1990 and 2015, 76% (149 million ha) of which occurred in South America, Southeast Asia, and Central and West Africa. World Resources Institute analysis demonstrates that 2016 and 2017 were the two worst years for recorded deforestation, with approximately 16 million hectares lost in each of these two years alone. So, the picture for the world’s forests continues to get worse, not better and WWF predict a further dramatic decline in forest cover under a ‘do nothing’ scenario (Living Forests report, 2015), with 80% of the world’s deforestation likely to occur in 11 core ‘deforestation fronts’ around the world. These are places where the largest concentrations of forest loss or severe degradation are projected to occur up until 2030 under business-as-usual scenarios and without interventions to prevent losses.

 So, what are the interventions and solutions to help ensure a more positive future for the world’s forests? Well at the Soil Association we believe there is no single solution but that awareness raising and training in forest governance, responsible forest management practices, along with sustainable supply chains interventions for consumers, are all part of the solution for a sustainable future. Forests, when managed responsibly, can provide a continual supply of forest-based livelihoods, carbon storage, clean water, protected soils, timber and fibre for the world.

 

Our solution

We’ve developed the ‘Responsible Forest Management and Sustainable Forest Product Supply Chains’ Training Course to assist policy-makers, NGOs, forest managers, supply chain professionals, consultants, certification auditors, and graduates - including those working in the most challenging regions - Our courses are designed to improve knowledge and understanding of the pressures on the world’s forests, their vital importance for humanity and some of the forest governance, responsible forest management and sustainable forest products supply chains interventions that can help.

The Course will assist with:

• Awareness of the context that drives deforestation, poor forest management practices and unsustainable supply chains
• Understanding the features of good forest governance, responsible forest management and sustainable forest product supply chains
• Market and legality issues for responsibly produced forest products
• Protecting high conservation values, biodiversity, water resources and soils
• Social responsibility to indigenous peoples, local communities and those employed in the forest sector
• Voluntary forestry standards, certification and assessment/auditing

The Course will help participants to achieve this by:

• Looking at the global issues affecting forests and the latest developments in sustainability thinking
• Considering, in detail, the different components that make up responsible forest management
• Focusing on the role of voluntary forestry standards and certification as practical performance management tools for assessing sustainability
• Using a mixture of e-learning, residential training, site visits and peer-to-peer networking

UK courses

Our flexible training programme means that we can respond to requests from partners, stakeholders and others for tailored courses based on our standard modules.

We’re also accepting registrations for our UK based policy and practice course ‘Responsible Forest Management and Sustainable Forest Product Supply Chains’.

This course runs over 2 weeks at Shuttleworth House, Bedfordshire in the UK.

Dates available:

Due to complications with travel caused by Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic we postponed our 2020 courses. The next UK course will be: 

• 1st - 12th November 2021.   

This course is fully residential (including all meals and en-suite accommodation).

As well as the course development and delivery being heavily subsidised by our funding partners, the Richard Shuttleworth Remembrance Trust, we are also able to offer generous bursaries to support attendance. Bursaries may cover the full cost of a residential place on the course (£1,495) and a contribution to travel costs. Applications for bursaries must be in writing and are considered on an individual basis.

Our aim is to work with those that attend this course to adapt and deliver relevant modules for specific participants in other countries and regions

 

Details

The course will cover a variety of topics, led by the experienced Soil Association forest certification training team

Policy:

• Including ecosystem services, global forestry trends, forest governance assessment, sustainable supply chain issues, timber legality and voluntary certification & landscape approaches to assurance

Practice:

• Including responsible forest management in practice, chain of custody and forest management certification, access to markets and site visits.

This includes time on e-learning, classroom discussions & exercises, learning in a forest situation, and also a visit to a Chain of Custody and Forest Management certificate holder, to look at certification in practice. All participants will be set up with a personal e-learning portal, which will help guide participants through the training course(s) from registration onwards.

 

Outcomes and Partnering

Participants will leave updated on the latest developments in the sustainability agenda relevant to forest governance, responsible forest management and sustainable forest product supply chains, with a full understanding of the main voluntary forest certification schemes, i.e. FSC® and PEFC™.

Participants will better understand how to tackle the risks and challenges specific to their region, and due to our unique two-tier training approach, will be able to partner with us to help deliver specific training based on a participants local or regional context.

All course participants will become alumni of our network and be registered on our e-learning platform, as well as receiving access to core materials and an influential global network.