Defining High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) for Ireland
This information is being presented here as it is the first attempt to interpret the definition of HCVF for Ireland. This interpretation may be adopted in whole or in part into the Irish FSC standard, depending on the decision of the Standard Development Group. Comments are welcome to Pat Neville at pat dot neville at coillte dot ie.
High Conservation Value Forests 
HCVF is a fundamental concept in FSC Principle 9, which states:
''Management activities in high conservation value forests shall maintain or enhance the attributes which define such forests. Decisions regarding high conservation value forests shall always be considered in the context of a precautionary approach.''
Other FSC Principles and Criteria also address conservation and community; the HCVF concept is a specific one.
Defining HCVF
High Conservation Value is defined by ProForest in their Best Practice guide as A biological, ecological, social or cultural value which is considered to be of outstanding significance or critical importance at the national, regional or global scale.
A HCVF is a forest (or area) which posses one or more of the following attributes (or the area required to maintain or enhance one or more of these conservation values):
(examples are taken from the ProForest HCVF Toolkit Part 1)
HCV1. Forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g. endemism, endangered species, refugia).
For example, the presence of several globally threatened bird species within a Kenyan montane forest.
HCV2. Forest areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant large landscape level forests, contained within, or containing the management unit, where viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species exist in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.
For example, a large tract of Mesoamerican lowland rainforest with healthy populations of jaguars, tapirs, harpy eagles and caiman as well as most smaller species.
HCV3. Forest areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems.
For example, patches of a regionally rare type of freshwater swamp forest in an Australian coastal district.
HCV4. Forest areas that provide basic services of nature in critical situations (e.g. watershed protection, erosion control).
For example, forest on steep slopes with avalanche risk above a town in the European Alps.
HCV5. Forest areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities (e.g. subsistence, health).
For example, key hunting or foraging areas for communities living at subsistence level in a Cambodian lowland forest mosaic.
HCV6. Forest areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity (areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities).
For example, sacred burial grounds within a forest management area in Canada.
Consultation on interpretation of HCVF values for Ireland
As the species and forest types as well as human dependencies on ecosystem services will vary across the globe, the concept of HCVF needs to be specified for each region where it might be applied. Organisations such as ProForest specialise in facilitating development of region-specific interpretations. A draft definition is now open for comment. Download the draft here and send your comments to Pat Neville by the end of 2008.
Links to additional information:
FSC Principles and Criteria
FSC factsheets (including one on HCVF)
WWF information on HCVF
ProForest publications on HCVF, including toolkits
HCVF Network