Analysis of corrective action requests from Forest Stewardship Council audits of natural forest management in Indonesia

Abstract

We used corrective action requests (CARs) issued by conformity assessment bodies (CABs) working under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in Indonesia to explore differences among audited natural forest management units (FMUs). Specifically, we evaluate how FMU characteristics influenced the classes of CARs issued and the time elapsed before their closure. We analyzed 933 CARs from 22 FSC-certified FMUs reported by six CABs in 99 public summaries. The average number of CARs issued did not vary with type of audit or CAB, most focused on social and environmental issues, and most represented minor infractions that were rectified with procedural changes (i.e., improvements in planning, record keeping, and reporting). None of the measured characteristics of Indonesian FMUs helped explain the foci of assigned CARs. The elapsed time before CAR closure differed among CABs and type of audit, but decreased over time. Large FMUs established before 1998 that employed many workers and subcontracted logging took longer to close CARs than FMUs with the opposite characteristics. Finally, conclusions based on this analysis should be made in light of the limitations of analyses based on reports from auditors rather than on direct observations.