HCSA is pleased to announce the High Carbon Stock Approach’s 2020 annual report on progress, highlights, and key developments made against the HCSA Global Strategic Business Plan (GSBP) and our Theory of Change (ToC) has been published. Thank you to the HCSA Steering Group members, partners, donors, and stakeholders for being adaptative to the challenging pandemic situation and providing support and valuable contributions in a safe and productive manner towards HCSA’s continued successes, impacts and learnings.

HCSA key highlights and developments from 2020 include:

• En Fundación HCSA (ANBI – a Public Benefit Organisation) and the HCS Approach Sdn. Bhd which hosts HCSA’s first physical office, were established in the Netherlands and Malaysia, respectively.
• The revised HCSA’s 14 Social Requirements (SRs) y Implementation Guide were approved which provide best practices for upholding human rights and ensuring the rights and livelihoods of local peoples are respected whilst implementing No Deforestation policies.
• Trials of the “A Simplified HCS-HCV Approach for Smallholders” commenced in West Kalimantan, Indonesia led by SPKS – a HCSA member and smallholder/farmer support organisation based in Indonesia.
• The “HCSA’s Guidance: Integrated Conservation Land Use Plan Development and Implementation Development and Implementation” was approved as interim guidance for trialling in 2021.  It incorporates management and monitoring guidance for an ICLUP which is the final output from the application of the HCSA Approach.
• The HCSA begun developing a Framework methodology for landscape-level indicative HCS forest mapping that will be available for use in identified priority landscapes in 2021.
• The HCSA Mecanismo de reclamación based on UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) effectiveness criteria for rights-based grievance mechanisms was developed in 2020 and launched in January 2021.
• Phase I of the HCSA Membership Requirements Review (MRR) was concluded in November.  The HCSA Membership Committee  developed  a suite of indicators and means of verification for evaluating compliance to the existing HCSA Membership Eligibility and Code of Conduct requirements outlined in HCSA Steering Group Membership Requirements and Application Form.
• HCSA signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with HCV Network (HCVN) to strengthen the collaboration to conserve forests and uphold community rights in tropical forests. 
• En GPNSR policy framework ‘For Sustainable Natural Rubber Production and Sourcing’ references HCSA as key tool for implementing its no deforestation requirement.
• The HCSA Secretariat published Advice Notes which respond to technical queries that arise from the implementation of the HCSA methodology and the evaluation of HCV-HCSA and HCSA assessment reports.