The HCSA was first developed in company landholdings that had plans for new plantation development.  It assessed land cover over many hundreds or thousands of hectares and in fragmented medium or low forest cover landscapes. The Toolkit has now been applied in Southeast Asia, West Africa, Central Africa, the Pacific and Central America.  The methodology can be used for integrated land use planning in any country and commodity grown in tropical moist forest landscapes

A key component of the HCSA is its innovative and adaptive nature.  Adaptations and improvements are commonly tested and completed through trials and tests conducted by HCSA members often working with external partners and collaborators.

O HCSA Trialling Protocol outlines the rules governing trials for the approach, including scoping visits, field tests, adaptation trials and testing methods.  It also sets the conditions for evaluating and reporting on trial outcomes and making claims regarding the trial.

Further information about the scope of applicability of trials is available in the ‘HCSA: Scope of Applicability for RSPO Certification’. Although this document is focused on palm oil production, its guidance is also applicable to other commodity crops and sectors.  Please refer to it for information on how the HCSA Toolkit can be used and when it requires formal trials to support potential Toolkit adaptations in different countries, biomes, production setups and forest types.

If you would like more information or are interested in conducting an HCSA trial, please contact our quality assurance team qa@highcarbonstock.org

The table below identifies where the HCSA is being applied and trialled, and where trials are being prepared by region, commodity, scale and biome.