Forest certification has become an important element in the trade of forest and wood products in many countries worldwide. We reviewed the Controlled Wood audit process under the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is one of the world’s largest forest certification schemes. We analysed an FSC Controlled Wood audit of logging operations conducted by VicForests (a government owned logging business operating in the Australian state of Victoria) within the Upper Goulburn Water Supply Protection Area. Areas >30° in slope within the catchment are deemed to be High Conservation Value Forests and they are not allowed to be logged. We: (1) analysed the level of performance required to demonstrate compliance with the FSC Controlled Wood Standard; (2) identified conflicts in the interpretation of standard; and (3) assessed the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement. Using a Digital Terrain Model, we found that 160 cutblocks or 75 % of the 214 areas logged between 2004 and 2019 in the Upper Goulburn Water Supply Protection Area were characterized by slopes >30°. Hence, they were steeper than the limits specified under state-based regulation. However, the FSC accredited certification body auditing VicForests claimed that logging was allowed on these slopes. This contradicted the regulatory authority’s interpretation of compliance. It is therefore critical that accredited FSC certification bodies verify evidence submitted in audits, particularly where that evidence is contested by the applicant forest management enterprise. Where state-based regulation is used, consistency in the interpretation of compliance is needed between accredited certification bodies and regulatory authorities. This case study highlights the important role that stakeholders, including those in civil society and academia, can play in certification schemes such as FSC.

森林认证已成为全球许多国家森林和木制品贸易中的重要元素。我们审查了森林管理委员会（FSC）下的受控木材审核程序，该委员会是世界上最大的森林认证计划之一。我们分析了由VicForests（在澳大利亚维多利亚州经营的政府所有的伐木业务）在上古尔本供水保护区内进行的FSC受控木材伐木操作审计。流域内坡度大于30°的区域被视为高保护价值森林并且不允许记录它们。我们：（1）分析了证明符合FSC受控木材标准所需的性能水平；（2）在标准解释中发现冲突；（3）评估利益相关者参与的有效性。使用数字地形模型，我们发现2004年至2019年之间在上古尔本供水保护区记录的160个切块或214个区域中的75％的坡度大于30°。因此，它们比基于国家法规规定的极限陡峭。但是，经FSC认证的认证机构审核VicForests声称在这些斜坡上允许伐木。这与监管机构对合规性的解释相矛盾。因此，至关重要的是，经过FSC认证的认可机构必须验证在审核中提交的证据，特别是在证据被申请人的森林经营企业质疑的情况下。在使用基于州的法规的情况下，授权的认证机构和监管机构之间在合规性解释方面需要保持一致。本案例研究强调了利益相关者（包括民间社会和学术界的利益相关者）在FSC等认证计划中可以发挥的重要作用。