Sharing certification costs: M.S. Federation launches FSC program with Mersey Tobeatic group

摘要

More Nova Scotia woodlot owners are about to gain access to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification thanks to a joint project of the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) and the Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners. MTRI is a non-profit cooperative based in Kempt, near Kejimkujik National Park, with a mandate to promote the sustainable use of natural resources in southwestern Nova Scotia through collaborative research, monitoring, and management. In November 2009 the group received 150,000 from the federal government's Community Development Trust Fund to provide outreach and education to help small woodlot owners in the area achieve FSC certification. A working group was established, and a feasibility study was undertaken, culminating with a report released in the fall of 2010. A practical guide for woodlot owners, authored by the Ecology Action Centre's Jamie Simpson, is to be made available later this winter. The project funding continues until the end of January, 2012, and the objective in this phase is to actually get some woodlots certified.