Oxfam raised the allegations against NFC in September 2011. Oxfam reported violations of land ownership and use rights by NFC. Following successful mediation by the compliance advisor ombudsman, NFC has reached agreement with both affected communities – Mubende and Kibogo. The mediation resulted in all parties signing an agreement that repre-sents full and final settlement between each of the affected communities and NFC.
The compliance advisor ombudsman continues to monitor progress to ensure successful implementation of the agreements.
FSC welcomes the outcome of the mediations and although these did not address issues of compliance with FSC’s Principles & Criteria, FSC believes that further investigation into the case would be counterproductive in the current context.
FSC has therefore decided to cancel the earlier announced compliance investigation by Accreditation Services International (ASI) and has informed ASI that it has closed this case.
FSC will continue to closely monitor the relationship between the New Forests Company and the communities through the regular certification cycle.
