Mar 21, 2014. /Lesprom Network/. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) requires national risk assessments (NRAs) for sourcing legally-produced wood to use in FSC Mix products. When the UK’s NRA was prepared, there was no requirement for harvesters to be granted a felling license if they were felling trees in Northern Ireland. This led to Northern Ireland being assessed as an ‘unspecified’ risk region for legality, meaning that it faced more demanding requirements for sourcing controlled wood than is the case in ‘low’ risk areas, as FSC said in the press release received by Lesprom Network.

Felling license regulations were implemented in Northern Ireland in 2013, and the UK risk assessment has been updated to reflect this. The process of revising the NRA was conducted in 2013, and new version was approved on 12 March 2014.

FSC is a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide.