Voices from the General Assembly: Candid Conversations from Panama

The General Assembly in Panama brought forward ideas and reflections that extended far beyond the formal debates. People spoke openly about their hopes for FSC and the work needed to meet today’s forest, climate, and social challenges.  

We wanted to capture those moments – the candid exchanges that reflect the range of experiences and expectations across the FSC community. The Voices from the General Assembly series brings some of these perspectives together – short conversations that reflect the substance and urgency of the discussions that shaped this year’s Assembly. 

Indigenous Peoples Leadership  

In this conversation, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim speaks about what Indigenous communities expect from FSC – influence in decision-making, recognition of their knowledge, and processes grounded in the realities of the people closest to the forests. 
 
Lorena Martínez Hernández reflects on how these expectations take shape inside FSC, including how rights are considered in forest management and how we approach sensitive contexts such as Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation. 

Traceability  

Traceability was one of the most debated topics at the General Assembly in Panama.  

By voting in favour of Motion 30, FSC's members acknowledged the need for FSC to lay the groundwork for developing and implementing a universal digital information and volume control system. But why is a traceability system needed? And what is FSC already doing to improve the integrity of FSC claims and protecting the value of the FSC brand?  
 
In the second video from our Voices of the GA series, Julia Griffin, Wood and Compliance Manager at Kingfisher, and Elena Tveritinova, Head of Certification Integrity at FSC International) bring two sides of the same challenge into one candid conversation: the pressure businesses face to prove where materials come from, and the realities of confronting false claims and integrity risks across a global certification system. 

Motion 30 now sets the direction for the next phase of work: understanding the potential impacts on certificate and license holders and beginning to shape the foundation of a Roadmap toward possible implementation by 2030, to be reviewed at the next GA in 2028. 

A grounded look at the growing and evolving expectations around traceability, and how the work to meet them is moving forward. 

Remedy 

“It has to start with the communities”  

That line from the short film, captures the heart of the FSC Remedy Framework: any path toward repairing past social and environmental harm depends on the consent, leadership, and lived experience of the people most affected. 

In this third video, Patrick Anderson, Senior Policy Advisor from Forest Peoples Programme and Salem Jones, Director of System Integrity at FSC International, discuss the opportunities and limitations of the FSC creating enabling conditions for companies to remedy the social and environmental harms they caused through their operations. They explain the work ahead to put rights holders at the centre of remedy, helping communities and stakeholders access remedy outcomes in a fair, transparent, and independently verified way. 

Their conversation doesn’t shy away from complexity. It recognizes both the opportunity and the responsibility involved in supporting communities to access remedy — offering a grounded reflection on what meaningful action requires today and the work still to come. 

Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) 

With the passing of Motion 45, FSC’s approach to protecting High Conservation Values within Intact Forest Landscapes (IFLs) is shifting from fixed percentage thresholds to an outcome-based framework that emphasizes ecological integrity, connectivity, and adaptive management.  

In this short film, Elston Dzus and Andrea Cornejo discuss why IFLs matter, the pressures they face, and the gaps that still stand in the way of protecting them effectively. They explore the questions that we need answer to share a more pragmatic approach – one that protects these invaluable ecosystems while allowing humans to co-exist and thrive in them. 

Looking into the future 

What role can FSC play in a world grappling with deforestation, poverty, and the accelerating climate and biodiversity crises? 

In this closing Voices of the GA video, Subhra Bhattacharjee, FSC International Director General, offers her perspective on that question. She talks about the direction set by FSC’s new strategy and the revision of the Principles & Criteria, and how these shifts are intended to strengthen the system’s relevance in addressing the biggest challenges facing humanity and the planet today.