HCV-HCSA Assessment

HCV-HCSA Assessment

The HCSA Toolkit sets out mandated assessments for companies and stakeholders committed to eradicating commodity-driven deforestation from their operations. It incorporates integrated HCV-HCSA assessments that are conducted in partnership with the High Conservation Value (HCV) Network. Interconnected and complementary, the HCV-HCSA assessment tools are applied together to deliver the greatest impact in protecting High Carbon Stock forests, biodiversity and the right of indigenous peoples and local communities to give or withhold consent to new development.

The High Conservation Values of HCV-HCSA Assessment

1 Biodiversity

Concentrations of biological diversity including endemic species and rare, threatened or endangered species are significant at global, regional or national levels.

2 Landscapes

Globally, regionally or nationally significant large landscape-level areas, such as forests, with viable populations of most if not all naturally occurring species in natural patterns of distribution and abundance.

3 Ecosystems & Habitats

Rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems, habitats or areas that support an isolated or surviving population of a once widespread species.

4 Ecosystem Services

Areas that provide basic ecosystem services in critical situations such as watershed catchment protection or soil erosion control.

5 Community Needs

Areas fundamental to meeting the basic human needs of local communities or indigenous peoples such as nutrition, health, and livelihoods.

6 Cultural Identity

Areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity - areas of cultural, ecological, economic or religious significance identified in cooperation with such local communities.

What areas may be developed?

HCSA assessment is critically important to identify areas of scrub and degraded land that may be used for development.  These areas are agreed by all parties before development can take place.  They form part of detailed plans for land use – supporting livelihoods and commercial production while optimising conservation and upholding the rights of affected communities.

Assessments are conducted by registered HCSA organisations and practitioners and HCV-HCSA Licensed Assessors using the HCV-HCSA Assessment Manual (2023)