Licensed Assessors who disagree with the result of their HCV assessment report or HCV-HCSA assessment report evaluation result can submit an appeal using our online Appeal Form. This document explains the scope and the process for submitting an appeal. Assessors must only submit one appeal form per evaluation to avoid excessive forms - please see explanation about how to add responses (appeal topics) before clicking submit!

To ensure the HCV Approach continues to be widely adopted, in 2022 we increased our training course offering, we recruited a small team to grow our landscapes workstream, joined new partnerships and alliances, trialed new tools and continued to engage users of the HCV Approach such as financial institutions, commodity producers, and voluntary sustainability standards.

The development of the National Interpretation was overseen by WWF-Bhutan. A National Consultant led the consultation process, compiled information and draftedthe National Interpretation, with support both from the HCV National Expert Group (NEG) and the HCV Network Secretariat.

Nature Positive Farming (NPF), developed by the HCV Network, provides a unique stepwise approach to build smallholder capacity and ownership to move towards Deforestation and Conversion Free production.

In April 2015, the Management Committee met to discuss next strategy for the next years.

In June 2016, the Management Committee met to discuss next strategy for the next years.

In June 2017, the Management Committee met to discuss next strategy for the next years.

In June 2018, the Management Committee met to discuss next strategy for the next years.

2022 was a busy year for the HCV Network Secretariat. We recruited new employees to support our Landscapes workstream, new training courses were offered, new partnerships and alliances were formed, new tools were trialed, and the Secretariat continued to engage users of the HCV Approach such as financial institutions, commodity producers, and voluntary sustainability standards. Our 2022 Annual Report provides the highlights.

We launched a bold new strategy and an innovative collaborative governance model. We helped shape the evolution of global standards and sustainability frameworks. Read our 2024 Annual Report to learn more.

The info session joined HCV practitioners, companies and other stakeholders to introduce the upcoming HCV Assessor Licensing Scheme (ALS)

The info session joined HCV practitioners, companies and NGO to introduce the upcoming HCV Assessor Licensing Scheme (ALS)

In February, Olivia and Arie from the HCV RN Secretariat, trained 30 forest protection staff from APRIL Group in the Riau Province of Sumatra, Indonesia

The new report summarizes the impacts of the ALS in its first two years of operation and identifies challenges and opportunities ahead

Can the HCV Approach boost the financial world’s drive for biodiversity conservation?

Better Cotton Initiative just joined the HCV Network as a Member, we look forward to collaborate with them !

Experts are looking at how the HCV Approach could be adapted to help better protect ocean and river ecosystems.

On three occasions, recordings of jaguars have been observed in HCV areas during monitoring exercises in Brazil!

This blog explores how the Sintang District, together with WWF Indonesia, compiled and used landscape data on High Conservation Value (HCV) and High Carbon Stock (HCS) to guide planning and promote joint management for balanced growth and environmental and social protection.

The HCVRN is conducting a 30-day public consultation to gather input from interested stakeholders.

The HCVN is conducting a 15-day public consultation to gather input from interested stakeholders.

L'outil Forest Integrity Assessment (FIA) est une approche de liste de contrôle simple et conviviale conçue pour permettre aux gestionnaires de terres et à d'autres non-biologistes d'effectuer des estimations rapides et efficaces de l'état de la biodiversité forestière.

A report released by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) report on weak assessments and audits in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) HCV assessments

Last January, the HCV Network, represented by Arie Soetjiadi was part of the first GPSNR workshop in Singapore!

Last February, the first Management Committee call took place

The Secretariat is glad to announce that the first Management Committee (MC) in the history of the HCV Network has been elected.

Our forest dynamics briefing paper explores nature as template for forest conservation and management.

Keep up with the HCV Network's latest news.

The new guidance sets out HCSA principles and criteria for ecological restoration and social remedy in HCSA and HCV degraded areas.

Recommendations to improve the e identification, management and monitoring High Conservation Values 5&6 were proposed

Last September the HCV Network moderated a workshop to discuss a draft protocol on HCV 5 & 6 management and monitoring in Bogor, Indonesia

Astra Academy is imparting an HCV Assessor Course in April.

ASTRAcademy will be imparting its first HCV Assessor Training Course of the year for prospective licensed assessors.

The High Conservation Value Network (HCVN) and the Mexican Oil Palm Federation (FEMEXPALMA) have signed a 5-year cooperation agreement to promote sustainable production of palm oil in Mexico through three strategic lines of work: Conservation, Capacity Building and Outreach.

HCV Network clarifications to Wilmar’s ‘Response to Mongabay Article on PT Medco Papua Hijau Selaras’ and Mongabay’s ‘Palm oil giant Wilmar unfazed as watchdogs cry foul over Papua deforestation’

We are very pleased to announce that the HCV Network recently joined the TNFD Forum.

This HCV Screening focused on the municipality of Mbangassina, Cameroon, located within the Grand Mbam landscape, about 120 km north of Yaoundé.

In 2020, the HCV Network worked with Lactec, Nativa Meio Ambiente and Proforest to conduct an HCV Screening in the Rio Doce watershed. The objective of the screening was to identify and map all potential HCVs and the threats they face to set priorities and recommendations on mitigating the social and environmental damages of the mining collapse and providing restoration recommendations.

In July 2013, a two day HCV training course for practitioners took place in Monrovia, Liberia

Last June the HCV Network Secretariat with Funbio and Proforest Brazil held a workshop about the implementation challenges of the HCV Approach in Brazilian biomes

Over two million hectares of forest remain in Kapuas Hulu District, of which less than 40% is located inside National Parks. This means there is a significant amount of forest, supporting biodiversity conservation, ecosystem services and support for local livelihoods, that is potentially at risk.

The HCV Network Secretariat gave a presentation on HCV-HCSA assessments to Guatemalan oil palm growers and other stakeholders.

We are happy to announce the publication of the new HCV-HCSA Assessment Manual

Remark Asia, one of HCV Network’s Registered Training Providers, will be imparting an online HCV-HCSA Assessor Training Course in September 2022.

An online HCV-HCSA Assessor Training Course will be imparted by the HCV Network Secretariat in May 2023.

Register to the self-paced online HCV-HCSA Assessor Training Course that will be imparted by the HCV Network Secretariat.

Register to the self-paced online HCV-HCSA Assessor Training Course that will be imparted by the HCV Network Secretariat.

Remark Asia will impart an HCV-HCSA Assessor Training Course in Bogor City, Indonesia in February 2024.

From October 21-25, 2019, Haryo Ajie Dewanto, ALS Junior Quality Officer attended an HCV-HCSA Assessor Training Course imparted by Proforest in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as part of their efforts to build local capacity for HCV and HCV-HCSA Assessments.

Jimena Frojan, ALS Senior Quality Manager, attended the training course in Mexico which was co-organised by Proforest, Pepsico and Femexpalma as part of their efforts to build local capacity for HCV and HCV-HCSA Assessments

Proforest will impart an online course on the High Conservation Value and High Carbon Stock Approaches for producers in August 2023.

As a Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund recipient, the HCVRN will map HCVs and HCS forests to help achieve no-deforestation in commodity production.

We are delighted to share with you a message from our Global Director, Belinda Bowling.

HCV Network Ltd. and its Secretariat are celebrating their 6th anniversary! Since its launch, the Secretariat team has been actively working to help people understand and implement the HCV Approach by providing advice and technical support to stakeholders, coordinating projects, securing funding and cultivating collaborative relationships with member and non-member organisations. Read about some of the highlights of the Secretariat's activities.

We are delighted to be able to offer training opportunities for licensed assessors on HCV and integrated HCV-HCSA assessments

The HCV Network, The Nature Conservancy and WWF with support from SIDA, Tetra Pak, Solidaridad Network and RSPO have launched a video and microsite to raise awareness about the importance of protecting High Conservation Values in production landscapes.

Ocean health depends greatly on freshwater ecosystem health, which in turn depends on good land management practices. To restore oceans, we must also look at what is happening on land. We envision two ways in which the HCV Network could contribute to restore ocean health: 1) by identifying priority coastal and marine areas for intervention, and 2) by promoting accountability amongst various users in the land-sea interface.

Last year we collaborated with BCI to develop a simple risk-based High Conservation Value procedure for smallholder cotton farmers

Ana Sofia Lorda from the HCV Network Secretariat was selected to participate in the IPBES Youth Workshop that took place from 19-23 October, 2022 in the Isle of Vilm, Germany. In this blog she explores how the HCV Approach can help achieve transformative change.

The HCV Network together with WWF-Malaysia's Sustainable Palm Oil Team and WWF-Singapore will be imparting an in-person HCV Assessor Training Course in Malaysia.

In 2021, an independent review of the Assessor Licensing Scheme was commissioned to provide recommendations for continuous improvement.

At the Global Landscape Forum in Accra in 2019, Ellen Watson had the opportunity to speak about the HCV approach and its role in landscape planning

Last November, the HCV Network joined Better Cotton's annual training for Implementing Partners in Mozambique to train partners and field technicians on the HCV risk assessment.

In May, our Executive Director participated in a workshop with the objective of improving understanding on implementation of the HCV in RSPO in Quito, Ecuador.

The HCV Network is pleased to invite you to a webinar on the lastest improvements to the Assessor Licensing Scheme (ALS).

A look at the licensing scheme helping companies protect nature and communities

In addition to identifying High Conservation Values for forestry and agriculture, it is now also possible to do so for aquatic ecosystems and aquaculture.

Very proud to share with you the Malaysian National Interpretation for the Identification of High Conservation Values!

The HCV Network Management Committee met in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, in November 2018.

In April 2019, the HCV Network met the Forest Steward Council (FSC) to talk about new projects and priorities

The HCVN is happy to feature its new Management Committee, represented by Non Profit Organisations, Producer/Supply Chain companies, Technical Service Providers and Standards

Rod Taylor, Director of Forests at WWF, speaks about the importance of the HCV Approach in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and avoiding a dangerous rise in global temperatures.

A new guide on how to develop national/regional HCV interpretations, for use as part of site-level HCV assessments and/or HCV screening at landscape and jurisdictional levels has been published.

Smallholders are responsible for 90% of rubber production and for up to half of the world’s palm oil production. Through Nature Positive Farming, HCV Network empowers small farmers to embed ecosystem and biodiversity protection in their work.

The proposed new regulation to curb EU-driven deforestation aims to reduce the EU’s climate and deforestation footprints. However, while large companies with integrated mills may be able to produce deforestation-free commodities with relative ease, low capacity smallholder suppliers in the tropics may find it much more difficult to demonstrate compliance. Big buyers may react by shifting to lower risk regions, or even substitute materials, rather than work with local farmer suppliers in areas of ongoing deforestation. Nature Positive Farming is a simple tool to help companies engage, rather than withdraw, balance conservation and development goals, and achieve the aim of the Regulation without unintended side-effects.

The report template and guidance for integrated HCV-HCSA Assessments has now been published!

It’s 2024, and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will now start to affect many businesses in Europe and beyond. Did you know there are ways that information on High Conservation Values - HCVs - could help businesses meet their reporting requirements?

HCV Screening is largely a remote desktop exercise to assesses the likelihood that HCVs are present at the landscape or jurisdictional level

HCV Screening scales up the use of the HCV approach in landscapes and jurisdictions to help plan and implement sustainable sourcing initiatives, inform and guide land use planning and advise the revision of spatial plans or green growth initiatives.

Taking stock of the experience of evaluating over 100 HCV-HCSA assessment reports and with >340 comments received during the three-week public consultation, the HCV-HCSA assessment manual has been updated. Approved by the HCVN Management Committee and the HCSA Executive Committee, it is now published in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Spanish.

The HCV Network Secretariat has worked in collaboration with ALS staff, Quality Panel members (QP), and Licensed Assessors to produce an updated HCV Assessment Manual and reporting templates

RemarkAsia will be imparting an online HCV-HCSA Assessor training Course for prospective licensed assessors.

HCVN and HCSA strengthen their collaboration to increase conservation of tropical forests and boost critical values for nature and people

We're so proud to annonce that Paulina Villalpando, our Executive Director is awarded Henry Arnhold Fellowship

Peter was one of the original founders of the HCV Network and we are very grateful for his support and guidance throughout the years.

Last year, Nature Positive Farming programme was first piloted in an oil palm production landscape in Indonesia, within the Siak Pelalawan Landscape Programme (SPLP).

The new Principles of the High Conservation Value (HCV) Approach are designed to provide consistency in the use of the HCV Approach across various contexts, geographies, commodities and scales.

A new discussion paper explores how social and environmental values may change over time and calls for the consistent and credible protection of High Conservation Values over the long term.

HCV Screening helps authorities at all levels identify those areas that are important for ecosystem services and livelihoods.

Two years ago, HCVN and FEMEXPALMA signed a cooperation agreement to promote sustainable practices in palm oil production through conservation, capacity building, and outreach. Today, the contributions of small-scale producers have become essential in the protection of High Conservation Values.

Hace dos años, HCVN y FEMEXPALMA firmaron un acuerdo de cooperación para promover prácticas sostenibles de producción de aceite de palma a través de la conservación, el desarrollo de capacidades y la divulgación. Hoy, el involucramiento de los pequeñosproductores se ha vuelto esencial en la protección de los Altos Valores de Conservación.

This newsletter is sent bi-monthly to those interested in our Quality Assurance work. If you would like to receive this newsletter, please email us at secretariat@hcvnetwork.org

RSPO has officially approved the simplified High Conservation Value (HCV) approach for independent smallholders with established plantations

Rainforest Alliance launches its revised Sustainable Agriculture Standard, with the HCV approach providing extra safeguards for highly valuable areas for people and nature.

Recommendations to improve the HCV 5&6 assessments were proposed

Over the last two years, the Secretariat, through its Learning workstream, has been taking a more proactive role in designing and imparting training courses. This is aligned with the Network’s broader strategy to ensure that users of the HCV Approach understand the methodology and implement it robustly in all regions and commodity contexts.