FSC launches a transaction verification loop on Pterocarpus

FSC in association with Assurance Services International (ASI) announces the launch of a new transaction verification (TV) loop on FSC-certified padouk (Pterocarpus spp.) supply chains to better understand the scale of trade of FSC-certified padouk between Africa and global consumer markets.

The TV loop will include all 807 FSC certificate holders (both valid and suspended) with padouk in their certification scope, including forest management and chain of custody certificate holders.

In the first phase of the TV loop, ASI will collect transaction data from these certificate holders for the period from October 2023 to September 2024. ASI will analyse this data to identify trading patterns and high-risk supply chain clusters, which will be further examined in the second phase of the TV loop – the TV investigation.

FSC and ASI decided to launch this TV loop in response to allegations and stakeholder concerns about padouk,  aiming to assess if it poses any risk to FSC-certified supply chains.

In the FSC supply chain, African padouk species remain the primary source of raw materials. According to the FSC database, as of 2 October 2024, 26 FM/COC certificates include padouk species in their scope: 18 located in Africa and 8 across Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. Additionally, there are 6 controlled forest management (CW/FM) certificates in Gabon, Africa.

Background

Padouk is a pantropical timber species and FSC-certified padouk predominantly originates in Africa. On 17 November 2022, at the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19), African populations of the Pterocarpus spp. were added to Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). While not prohibited from exploitation, the export of these species now requires a CITES certificate or permit, issued based on quotas determined by non-detriment findings.

Since African padouk is listed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), FSC-certified forest management certificate holders (FM/COC) in Africa are required to have a CITES permit/certificate for trading purposes.