FSC Australia and New Zealand (FSC ANZ) sponsored the 25th Anniversary Katoomba Summit, themed ‘Real Value for Nature’, held in early October. This milestone event took place in Sydney ahead of the Global Nature Positive Summit. Source: Timberbiz
Both events served as key platforms for advancing discussions on reversing biodiversity loss and scaling sustainable solutions.
FSC ANZ’s CEO, Melanie Robertson, was actively engaged in the summit, representing FSC’s commitment to responsible forestry as part of a broader nature-positive vision.
Founded in the late 1990s, the Katoomba Group has long been at the forefront of innovative environmental solutions. Comprising a global network of individuals and organisations from diverse sectors – government, finance, environmental groups, and academia – the Katoomba Group focuses on creating ecosystem service markets and driving sustainable investments.
Over the last 25 years, the group has been instrumental in promoting ways to value natural capital, mobilise financing for conservation, and empower local communities and First Nations Peoples to steward their lands.
This milestone summit, ‘Real Value for Nature’, celebrated their legacy and featured in-depth discussions on several critical issues:
- Pathways to Value: Highlighting the development of markets for ecosystem services and solutions that encourage sustainable investment.
- Risk to Value: Exploring strategies to manage climate and environmental risks while enhancing the resilience of ecosystems.
- Partnerships to Value: Promoting cross-sector collaborations to scale natural asset solutions and drive impactful change across industries.
FSC’s sponsorship of the summit underscores its commitment to advancing sustainable forestry practices, aligning with the summit’s focus on innovative solutions for protecting ecosystems and supporting communities.
In line with the discussions at the Katoomba Summit and Global Nature Positive Summit, FSC is pushing the boundaries of how forest impacts are monitored through its Verified Impact initiative.
Verified Impact (formerly Ecosystem Services Claims) is FSC’s advanced system for capturing high-quality climate and nature data from FSC-certified forests. This system matches businesses, financial institutions, and governments to ecosystem-services projects that not only maintain but also enhance forest health.
Through Verified Impact, project sponsors gain access to credible, verified data on the environmental and social impact of their activities, which can then be communicated to their stakeholders. This upgraded system is designed to help organisations disclose high-integrity forest data and demonstrate their true impact on climate, biodiversity, and local communities.
The Global Nature Positive Summit convened global leaders on Gadigal Land (Sydney) to address the urgent need for a nature-positive future. With a strong emphasis on First Nations leadership, the summit sought to align efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and secure a healthy, sustainable future for all.
FSC ANZ CEO Melanie Robertson attended the summit and highlighted the critical role of FSC in this global movement:
“Sustainably managed forests, certified to FSC’s rigorous standards, play a crucial role in contributing to a nature-positive future. By safeguarding biodiversity, enhancing community livelihoods, and empowering Indigenous Peoples, FSC-certified forestry offers a pathway to addressing climate challenges while fostering resilience for generations to come,” she said.
As the summit drew to a close, the call for action was clear: protecting nature requires cross-sectoral collaboration, strong leadership, and practical solutions like those provided by FSC’s verified sustainable forestry practices.
