It started with a wooden spatula almost three decades ago. Since certifying that first product, FSC* has come a long way as an independent forest certification standard. Originally co-founded in 1994 by WWF and partners, FSC is a crucial market-based approach to tackling forest loss and degradation. In 30 years, FSC has gone on to certify the management of more than 150 million hectares of forests globally, and its unique multistakeholder governance structure has been a pioneer for credible certification across other commodities and industries worldwide. But FSC needs to evolve to remain relevant and expand its impact today and in the future.  

This week, more than 700 FSC members – representing environmental organizations, businesses, social groups, and Indigenous Peoples – have gathered in Panama for the FSC General Assembly. Here, the WWF delegation is calling for important changes aimed at strengthening the system and shaping the future of responsible forest management. 

These include addressing issues related to the FSC system’s credibility and accessibility, as well as moving beyond its principal focus on timber production to a more holistic approach to forest management – one that better values, codifies and incentivizes the responsible management of all the ecosystem goods and services that forests provide. 

WWF’s key asks for FSC can be boiled down to three i’s:  

1. Integrity 

In order to maintain and strengthen the credibility of the FSC brand and handle associated claims, FSC needs to continually improve systems and integrity related to transparency, traceability, fraud and sanctions.  

For example, WWF strongly supports Motion 30, which calls on FSC to lay the groundwork for developing and implementing a universal digital information and volume control system, in order to control fraud and protect FSC’s reputation. WWF believes this motion is critical for maintaining and enhancing FSC’s value proposition and urges members to support it. WWF also recommends a review and strengthening of the system of sanctions.  

2. Inclusion 

Several key motions at this year’s General Assembly are centred around ensuring FSC’s relevance for all geographies and forest biomes. WWF wants to see FSC improve its accessibility – especially in the tropics and for small producers – to ensure its potential for impact is focused on where it’s needed most.  

For example, Motion 45 calls for a locally adapted and outcome-focused approach to protecting Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs). This will strengthen FSC’s relevance and accessibility in tropical areas with high forest cover, especially where large areas have been allocated to forest management, such as in the Congo Basin. 

3. Impact 

WWF is calling for a strengthening of FSC’s approach to generating, quantifying and communicating positive impact – including environmental, social and economic. This includes Motion 43, which is aimed at improving the quality, consistency and transparency of FSC’s approach to maintaining and enhancing High Conservation Values (HCVs). HCVs are at the core of FSC and the proposed reforms will also better enable FSC to strategically position itself within the global climate and nature agendas.  

A crucial moment 

One-third of tropical forest area globally is designated for timber production, with more than half of the world’s forests are managed partially or wholly for production. An impactful, inclusive and high integrity FSC is critically important to ensuring that sustainable forest management remains part of the solution to reverse biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change. 

For a member-based organization such as FSC, there is no ‘i’ in ‘democracy’. But it’s down to FSC’s environmental, economic and social chambers to ensure there are three i's in FSC’s future. There’s a lot more than a single wooden spatula riding on these decisions. 

*Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC^®)