Communal FSC Pilot Project

To date, charcoal production in communal areas faces constraints and the current production is only limited to the commercial landowners. The promotion of upscaled FSC compliance in communal areas is in line with sustainable bush control and offers an improved monitoring process for authorities. In partnership with relevant industry stakeholders such as the Directorate of Forestry (DoF), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and CMO supported by GIZ-Bush Control and Biomass Utilisation (BCBU) project, N-BiG is currently piloting a communal FSC charcoal production model. The aims of the pilot are to sustainably:

(a) test a model which will give a solution for equitable benefit distribution in the communal areas.
(b) improve inclusiveness of the Namibian charcoal sector with respect to formalised communal areas charcoal production
(c) increase the Namibian FSC certified production capacity in order to exploit the export potential of Namibian charcoal
(d) foster communal compliance with international, environmental and social standards
(e) test showcasing of sustainable bush control and biomass utilisation in formalised communal structures and small-scale farming units