Structure, Content and Development of Interim National Standards
Abstract
The objective of this document is to specify the requirements for FSC-accredited certification bodies for developing Interim National Standard (INS) or Interim Regional Standard (IRS), depending on the geographic scope of the standard, for the certification of responsible forest management and the responsible management of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) at the Management Unit (MU) level. These standards shall be based on the International Generic Indicators (IGI) and shall address the regional, national or sub-national conditions in which they are to be used and shall consider input from local stakeholders. The FSC Board of Directors at FSC International, acting through the Policy Steering Group (PSG) shall approve Interim National Standards (INS) before they can be used for FSC certification purposes. In March 2020 the revised procedure was published to reflect the FSC Board of Directors’ decision during their 82nd meeting to delegate the approval of INS to the Policy Steering Group.