Important legal notice
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Forest and illegal logging

News (update November 2009):

Illegal logging – issues

A major problem for many timber-producing developing countries, illegal logging:

  • causes environmental damage
  • costs governments billions of dollars in lost revenue
  • promotes corruption
  • undermines the rule of law and good governance
  • and in some places has financed armed conflict.

Consumer countries contribute to these problems by importing timber and wood products without ensuring they are legally sourced.

In recent years, however, producer and consumer countries alike have paid increasing attention to illegal logging.

EU response – FLEGT action plan

The plan – adopted in 2003 – combines measures in producer and consumer countries to facilitate trade in legal timber and eliminate illegal-timber trading with the EU, through measures such as:

  • support for timber–producing countries
  • activities to promote trade in legal timber
  • promoting ethical public procurement policies
  • support for private-sector initiatives to promote corporate social responsibility
  • safeguards for financing and investment
  • use of existing legislative instruments or adoption of new laws to support the plan
  • addressing the problem of conflict timber.

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Voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs)

A VPA is a WTO-compatible trade agreement between a producer country and the EU to work together to stop illegal logging.

Although voluntary, VPAs are legally-binding on the 2 parties, once agreed.

Goals of VPAs

  • policy and legal reform
  • governance and transparency
  • capacity building
  • improve control, track & verify legal compliance
  • better capture revenues and rents
  • secure & improve market share

VPAs incorporate a national legality assurance system that:

  • defines what constitutes legal timber
  • verifies compliance with this definition
  • traces products from forest to export
  • licenses exports, to provide assurance to markets
  • independently checks all elements of the system

In each country, the VPA will need to take account of the inherent national differences in forest governance issues, forest-related legislation, the nature of forest and land rights, the nature of timber trade, current forest sector initiatives and the capacity to implement agreements.

In some developing countries, meeting these commitments will require considerable institutional strengthening and capacity building. VPAs will identify areas where there is a need for technical and financial assistance.

Countries with VPAs

The agreements are being ratified and the legality assurance systems developed.

First FLEGT licence expected by December 2010.

Countries currently negotiating

More related documents are available in I-Centre.

Lessons learnt from negotiations

  • Negotiations provide a platform to address difficult forest governance issues, clarify legal framework and improve technical systems
  • Time-bound, output-oriented stakeholder engagement helps foster understanding between stakeholders and make major, practical changes to VPAs
  • Bilateral negotiation dynamic can help build country ownership of results

Legal framework

  • EU regulation 2173/2005 for FLEGT licensing scheme
  • Implementation rules - FLEGT licensing of timber imports to EU (2008)

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Due diligence for timber products

Action is needed to tackle timber trade with countries that have not signed VPAs, since the FLEGT licensing scheme doesn’t deal directly with this.

To further support FLEGT, the Commission and EU governments have examined other options.  

Consultation (2006)

A public consultation canvassed views on how to combat illegal logging and especially prevent the EU being a market for such timber.

Report on EU logging consultation

Proposed regulation (2008)

The Commission proposed a timber due diligence regulation to minimise the risk of importing illegally harvested timber/timber products to the EU. Under the regulation, anyone importing timber from countries with no VPA would be required:

  • to use the due diligence system, to ascertain ifproducts are legal
  • to identify the country of origin of their timber, and whether it has been harvested according to the relevant laws of that country
  • generally to be responsible and pro-active

Timber from VPA countries will be considered legal, and traders will not have to implement specific due diligence measures. This provides an incentive for timber-producing countries to sign VPAs.

Q&A - EU timber due diligence proposal

Regional forest law enforcement

Regional initiatives have led to ministerial declarations in:

  • Asia - Bali, 2001
  • Africa - Yaoundé, 2003
  • Eastern Europe - St Petersburg, 2005

There are also regional processes in:

  • Central Africa (COMIFAC)
  • Caribbean and Latin America (Puembo initiative)
  • East Africa

Those processes have created political support for forest governance reform initiatives linking producer and consumer countries, and in some cases have led to voluntary partnership agreements.

Regional timber studies

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FLEGT projects

Activities to implement the FLEGT action plan are financed through:

  • European Development Fund
    • FLEGT-related projects or support programmes under national indicative programmes in Ghana, Cameroon, Congo and Indonesia
    • FLEGT support project for ACP countries (managed by FAO)
  • EU environment and natural resources programme (development aid)
    • EFI FLEGT facility (European Forest Institute)
    • Numerous forest governance pilot projects with NGOs and private associations
      (covering advocacy and capacity building, support for private sector, support for FLEGT processes, research and analytical forest governance projects)

List of projects and contacts

FLEGT & climate change (REDD)

Under preparation.

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Last update: 20-11-2009
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