Guyana position outlined at international forest legality workshop
AGRICULTURE Minister Robert Persaud said, Wednesday, that the Government has led efforts to strengthen forest legality to ensure access to traditional and new markets and is pursuing avenues to build on what was previously achieved.He was speaking to stakeholders at a European Union (EU) Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Awareness Workshop at Grand Coastal Inn, East Coast Demerara.
Guyana considers implications of new EU’s laws on illegal timber
Europe has passed new legislation to counter the flow of illegal timber into its markets. With Guyana last year exporting timber to the tune of US$5M ($1B) to the European Union, the market is one that the country could ill-afford to lose.
Next Wednesday, the Forest Products Association of Guyana (FPA) will be holding a workshop with the assistance from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, to increase awareness of the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) new measures which have implications for exporting countries.
It’s easy to point fingers at a particular country’s illegal log trade, but we need to keep in mind that the industry is feeding the world’s demand for timber. Illegal logging is a collective problem that requires a collective solution, says Nalin Kishor of the World Bank.
Destruction of forests is a significant contributor to climate change. Preserving forests helps mitigate global warming. These two facts explain why halting deforestation is a central part of much of the current negotiations on climate change, with an international binding forest climate agreement, or REDD+, forming a key part of discussions. Yet, such an agreement, even if well-designed, cannot by itself save the forests. Without reducing greenhouse gas emissions by between 85 and 95 percent by 2050, many forests, along with many other ecosystems, will be lost.
What problems does sustainable forest management face in Russia?
Discrepancies in the system of the Russian forest legislation is the main reason for that. This was the common opinion of participants of the Roundtable organized by WWF at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in early November 2010.
Representatives of the Russian legislative bodies, Russian federal Forest Service, regional authorities, forestry businesses, supervising and control entities of forest management and environmental NGOs were invited to this meeting.
Stakeholders knowledge on EU forest law mechanism boosted
A just-concluded forestry stakeholders’ workshop on the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme is a signal of Guyana’s willingness to boost its “outstanding track record” in forestry management, according to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud.
Policy advice has been approved as new strategic function of EFI by the Annual Conference. This means that EFI will increasingly embark on activities that provide enhanced support for decision takers and policy makers.
October 2015: The Guardian simply ignores knowledge related to illegal logging and deforestation and furthermore isn't addressing the core problem of the EU FLEGT/EUTR/VPA initiative. Seems the just ongoing evaluation of the FLEGT/VPA/EUTR initiative will also not address the core problem and will just address the mismanagement of the process. There is still no political will to end this disingenuous campaign...
European Parliament votes to cut illegal timber out of the EU market
The European Parliament has voted in favour of legislation banning illegally logged timber imports into the European Union. The new legislation bans illegally-harvested timber or timber products from being placed on the EU market. This will prevent such wood from effectively being laundered once it reaches the EU. Currently, at least 20% of timber and timber products reaching the EU market is estimated to come from illegal sources.
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