One method for private firms to ensure the legality of timber supply chains are certification programmes. These place the onus on the industry to sustainable manage concessions and voluntarily submit to inspections along the supply chain to ensure only legal, sustainably harvested wood enters the global supply chain.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), there are more than 50 certification schemes globally, responsible for overseeing compliance with timber trade regulations in areas with weak forestry controls. Well-known schemes include:

• Forest Stewardship Council
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative
• Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.

Many schemes work with local communities, governments and companies through a multi-stakeholder / Collective Action approach to secure the supply chain.

While the schemes represent an important tool in forest management and are considered generally effective, they remain vulnerable to weaknesses. These include the susceptibility of officials to bribes and payoffs to permit illegal logging, complicity in the clearcutting of rainforests, intimidation of local communities, and threats and violence against forest activists, forestry officers and park rangers.

Even well-known manufacturers may be caught up in timber trafficking through failures in the certification process, including bribery and corruption risks. Examples include an investigation by the NGO Earthsight into IKEA furniture, with some commentators questioning whether forest certification actually works (Dasgupta, 2017). Even well-known and established manufacturers of musical instruments and other wood products may have unknowingly used illegally sourced timber in their products, due to the complexity of supply chains and lack of real traceability.