Sept. 10/05

Comments based on the Smart-wood report and individuals suggestions working on the auditing project.

In making this summary, as the chairperson of the CYA auditing committee I have tried to summarize using the exact wording of the person making the recommendation.

• Standard must be 3 years growth not length with possible a 10% error and audit must be based on average of lots inspected.

• Harvesters must be properly trained in order to have harvesting guidelines correctly followed.

• Audit method of harvest sites must be flexible enough to randomly sample harvest sites with continuous yew coverage, partial but more or less connected yew coverage, and distinct yew patch coverage of the site. A modified version of a grid sampling system with randomization of where to sample might be one system to use to cover all three yew distribution stand types. Audit method must also provide guidelines (based on total area and mass of yew harvested) for numbers of sites and harvest bags that should be sampled to yield a statistically valid estimate of harvest.

• Native harvesting rights respected and contractors make every effort to use native harvesters.

• Whenever possible, audit companies should employ auditors familiar with the area being audited.  Bringing in auditors from distant locations may hamper their ability to effectively audit the harvest sites and present them with a steep learning curve as to the growth and condition of the yew stands in the area being audited.

• The primary purposes of the audit are to:
• Affirm (or not) that the standards (in this case the harvest guidelines) have been followed in the field.
• Use the principles and criteria and indicators from the CYA as an aid in evaluating the field harvest.

• We recognize that the principles and C&I cover more than just the field harvest. Accordingly, only a subset of the total P and C&I were deemed to be relevant for a field audit.

• Audit must be dual purpose. It needs to audit product and harvest sites. Auditing product should be the main focus because this will be the most efficient way to determine if harvesting is done within guidelines.  Harvest site audits must be done to ensure that double harvesting (same site twice) and two cut harvesting (cut large branches in bush and re cut small pieces at leisure) as well as other non sustainable practices are not occurring.

• The CYA principal’s criteria and indicators are broad spectrum to cover all points of the industry and auditing should cover only sustainable harvesting practices. There are many government agencies in place to protect workers rights, illegal business practices, etc.

• More research is needed on sustainable harvest yields of repeated harvested sites before harvested volumes can be audited. If performed, volume audits will also require accurate data on the % yew coverage and size of harvested sites.

• Auditors should do their own independent audit but also audit the companies internal auditing and management procedures and actions for compliance