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FLEGT - a short reflection

September 2012 - a note by the Editor of ForestIndustries.EU: We wrote this article more than three years ago. Many significant events happened since then and a huge amount of new knowledge has been collected by the global community.

Let's recycle toilet paper! Part 1

There was some interesting debate going on. American "soft" toilet tissue seems to be a problem to some people in the US...

Let's recycle toilet paper! Part 2

Toilet paper may not be the sexiest environmental issue, but it really is one of the most important considering the manufacturing of that product causes deforestation, which causes more global warming pollution than all the combined emissions of cars, trucks, buses, airplanes and ships in the ent

The World bank's strategy on forests and climate change

Gerhard Dieterle (World Bank Forest Advisor), Civil society event at the World bank spring meetings 2009, 24 April

By 2050 it is believed that 75% of fiber will be grown in fast growing plantations.
There are opportunities in this for developing countries, however the revenues must stay in the countries to be beneficial.

Australian timber industry joined forces to accelerate legal timber

24/06/2009: Australian timber industry consolidates and improves systems to verify legally harvested wod

EU grants € 4.5 million to EFI in order to push FLEGT

June 23, 2009: European Commission contributes € 4.5 million to EU FLEGT Facility hosted by EFI to fight illegal logging

Kenya to Plant 7.6 Billion Trees to Check Deforestation

NAIROBI - Kenya said on Wednesday it would plant 7.6 billion trees over the next 20 years to redress decades of chopping down forest cover, the effect of which is now being felt in acute water and power shortages.

Roads and Rainforests - of course they matter...

Chainsaws, bulldozers, and fires are tools of rainforest destruction, but roads are enablers.

After Typhoon, Illegal Logging Back in Spotlight in Vietnam

When rains slowed enough for people living in the central coast of Vietnam to venture outside and assess the damage, they were stunned at what they saw.

Illegal logging responsible for loss of 10 million hectares in Indonesia

Lush tropical rainforest once covered almost all of Indonesia's 17,000 islands between the Indian and Pacific oceans. And just half a century ago, 80 per cent remained. But since then, rampant logging and burning has destroyed nearly half that cover, and made the country the world's third largest emitter of greenhouses gases after the US and China.

Issue date: 
December 11, 2009

Calling WTO to do REDD support?

 

EU Council rejects ban on illegal timber imports - FLEGT

December 22, 2009: At the meeting of European ministers in the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (15 December 2009), a discussion was held on the proposal for the Regulation laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market.

EU lawmakers on watch for illegal timber

European Parliament adopts rules to keep illegal timber off the EU market

Apr 27, 2009: Stricter rules on timber sold in the EU are needed to combat illegal logging - the main cause of deforestation - says a legislative report by Caroline Lucas (Greens/EFA, UK) adopted by the European Parliament. All the operators in the timber supply chain must prove the legality of their timber and illegal timber suppliers must pay penalties that reflect the degree of environmental and economic damage, it added. The report was adopted on 22 April (465 for, 22 against, 187 abstentions). EU rules need to be more effective, as 20% to 40% of global industrial wood production is from illegal sources, stresses the European Parliament, which wants to toughen the proposed legislation to ensure that illegally harvested timber and timber products are removed from the EU market, through a concrete system of traceability and monitoring.

European Parliament press release

EurActiv EU Parliament backs crackdown on illegal logging

Issue date: 
2010/01/26

Malaysia to sign FLEGT agreement with EU

MALAYSIA'S timber products will use the "green lane" to the European market next year, in line with the implementation of the European Union's (EU) timber trade legislation, says the EU ambassador Vincent Piket.

Malaysia is undertaking a bilateral voluntary partnership with the EU under its Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action plan to ensure that only licensed and certified timber enter the EU markets.

UK government is still struggling to understand deforestation and illegal logging

"Cutting down the worlds forests is responsible for about a fifth of global carbon emissions, but what many people may not realise is that this is linked to the illegal trade in timber. This is a major problem for many timber-producing countries in the developing world. It not only causes environmental damage, but costs governments billions of dollars in lost revenue, often involving corruption and funds armed conflict."

Issue date: 
January 28, 2010

Satellites being used to track illegal logging, rosewood trafficking in Madagascar

Analysts in Europe and the United States are using high resolution satellite imagery to identify and track shipments of timber illegally logged from rainforest parks in Madagascar. The images could be used to help prosecute traders involved in trafficking and put pressure on companies using rosewood sourced from Madagascar.

Issue date: 
Feb 1, 2010

Ghana: EU Take Action On Illegal Logging

 

The European Delegation in Ghana is working with the Ministry of Forestry and Natural Resources to curb the importation of illegally logged timber from the country to the European market.

Issue date: 
2010-01-27

Forestry Bribes Increasing

More Lao forestry officials are taking bribes in exchange for illegal logging concessions.

BANGKOK—The number of forestry officials in Laos charged with taking bribes is increasing despite an ongoing crackdown, according to a top government lawyer.

REDD+, deforestation and illegal logging - how do these things fit toegether?

Sounds to be a simple question - but it isn't:

Banning illegally logged timber will curb deforestation - this is the very simplistic message of Caroline Lucas MEP: UK Green Steps Up Fight Against Illegal Logging In Euro-Parliament:

Issue date: 
May 2010

The Congolese forest, governance and timber trade: FLEGT

Issue date: 
Jul 12, 2010

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.

The European Union (EU) isn't able (or willing) to get the idea of Forests issues...

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...

Issue date: 
Sep 21, 2010

EFI strengthens its work on policy advice

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.

Issue date: 
October 7, 2010

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.

Issue date: 
15.11.2010

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.

Issue date: 
December 2010

Lessons learnt from FLEGT for REDD draft Summary

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.
Issue date: 
January 11, 2011

Follow the money or follow the logs?

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.

Issue date: 
January 22, 2011

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.

Issue date: 
29 January 2011

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.

Issue date: 
05 February 2011

'Major shift' needed to halt deforestation

A paradigm shift in global forest management is needed to halt tropical deforestation, said Global Witness at the start of the UN’s International Year of Forests. The status quo effectively legalises the destruction of natural forests by logging operations, subsidised by tax-dollars. Without efforts to overturn this, international action to prevent irreversible climate change will founder and the livelihoods of over a billion forest-dependent people will be at risk.

Issue date: 
02/24/2011

EU, RI ready to sign timber trade agreement

JAKARTA: The European Union (EU) and Indonesia are preparing to sign a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade - Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA), a joint statement said Wednesday.

“We are nearly there,” Forestry Ministry business development director general Iman Santoso said in the statement. It is expected the agreement will be concluded in the next two to three months.

Issue date: 
February 16, 2011

UP study on logging ban bared

MANILA, Philippines – A total logging ban would only worsen the rate of deforestation of the country's meager forest cover.

Issue date: 
March 3, 2011

Peru admits timber certificates faked in secret cable

Peru’s government has secretly admitted that 70-90% of its mahogany exports were illegally felled, according to a US embassy cable revealed by Wikileaks.

Issue date: 
April 19, 2011

EU-Indonesia reach historic agreement on illegal timber

AFTER four years of negotiations, the EU and Indonesia have this week finalised an historic new trade agreement to stem the flow of illegal timber to European markets.

Issue date: 
April 18, 2011

Corruption threatens to destroy Cameroon’s domestic timber industry

AOUNDE, Cameroon (18 April, 2011)_The trade in illegally harvested timber provides a living for more than 45,000 people, a major source of income for corrupt officials and not a cent for the state. Follow this 5-part series as I explore Cameroon’s hidden harvest.

Issue date: 
Apr 29, 2011

EU FLEGT-REDD Facilities open consultation on development of a Forest Governance Research Agenda

Issue date: 
July 08, 2011

Final report of the EUTR Support Study available now

The final report of the “Support study for development of the non-legislative acts provided for in the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market” (referred often as EUTR Support Study) is av

Issue date: 
02 Jul 2011

Guyana prepared to deal with illegal forest activities

Government as part of its continued efforts to pursue the protection of its rainforest and to address issues relating to illegal activities within, inclusive of illegal gold mining united with Suriname and French Guiana to host a workshop.

Issue date: 
Jul 26, 2011

EU Timber Regulation Support Study - final report

The final report of the Support study for development of the non-legislative acts provided for in the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market (often referred to as the EUTR Support Study)

Issue date: 
28 October, 2011

The importance of the domestic timber trade for FLEGT and REDD

ropenbos International would like to invite you to an informal networking event on 23 November 2011, to learn about the practical dilemmas of regulating domestic timber markets.

Issue date: 
18/11/2011

Comments on Viet Nam's timber legality definition VPA/FLEGT

We would highly appreciate it if the contributions could be documented and sent to MARD at Tong cuc Lam nghiep, No. 2 Ngoc Ha, Ha Noi; fax 38438793 or email to nguyenminhthuong.vnforest@gmail.com by 1 December 2011.

Timber legality definition draft 4

Issue date: 
November 17, 2011

Progress Has Been Made In Negotiations Of VPA With EU

Malaysia and the European Union (EU) have made progress in talks on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), said Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities, Tan Sri Bernard Giluk Dompok.

However, he said, the different forestry laws in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, needed to be ironed out before an agreement could be reached.

Issue date: 
November 27, 2011

Seizures From Illegal Indonesian Loggers Show Deforestation Impact

Kubu Raya, West Kalimantan. With millions of hectares of forests being cleared each year to make way for palm-oil plantations, even illegal loggers are now starting to see the impact of dwindling rainforests in Indonesia.

Unlike previous years when illegal loggers were spotted with top quality wood, the National Police this year have only been able to seize low quality goods during a series of raids conducted between Nov. 8 and Nov. 26.

Issue date: 
January 18, 2012

Should EU plan be given another chance?

IT will be interesting to see whether Malaysia will finally decide to support the European Union's (EU) new timber regulation that will come into force in January next year.

Issue date: 
Jan 17, 2012

New brochure focuses on EU Timber Regulation (EUTR)

The latest brochure in EFI’s Making a Difference: From Science to Policy series is now available! It focuses on EFI’s work coordinating the EUTR Support Study project, which investigated the most effective ways of meeting various requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).

Issue date: 
January 18, 2012

New timber regulation to force companies away from business-as-usual practices

New regulations banning sale of illegal timber in consumer countries will force companies to move away from business-as-usual practices, part of a two-pronged approach to ensure the sustainability of supply for wood products.

Issue date: 
24 January 2012

'Peak timber' concerns in tropics

(BBC) - Current tropical timber practices are not sustainable and nations should consider the "implications of 'peak timber'", a study has suggested.

Issue date: 
February 15, 2012

Illegal Logging Unlikely to End Unless All Companies Follow Rules

Efforts to stem illegal logging by requiring Indonesian timber exports to be certified will prove futile if cheaper, uncertified wood continues to be available on the market, officials said on Tuesday.

Diah Raharjo, director of the Multistakeholder Forestry Program, a collaboration between the Indonesian and British governments, said progress was being made in getting logging firms to comply but there was still much work to do.

Issue date: 
April 17, 2012

EU Timber Regulations: Well-intentioned or risky?

In March 2013 the European Union will start enforcing a new timber regulation that is designed to prevent illegally logged wood, and products made from illegally logged wood, from entering into the EU.

Issue date: 
20 May, 2012

Myanmar-Overview of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade

Myanmar remains one of the world’s only countries with no prohibitions on log exports.

Issue date: 
June 27, 2012

New Online Tool Supports Fight Against Illegal Logging

The World Resources Institute (WRI) today announced the launch of the Forest Legality Risk Information Tool, an open-access global information website designed to assist purchasers of forest products in securing fiber from legal sources.

Issue date: 
July 9, 2012

EUTR Issues High on Agenda at UK Stakeholder Day

With the introduction of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) only months away, PEFC UK hosted a Stakeholder Meeting in London on the 26 June, with the central theme of mitigating risk in procuring forest products.

Issue date: 
01 October 2012

How the mafia is destroying the rainforests

It's not as glamorous as cocaine or diamonds, but the illegal logging industry has become very attractive to criminal organisations over the past decade.

Issue date: 
11th October 2012

New report compares timber import requirements to safeguard biodiversity

A TRAFFIC document analysing and comparing the different requirements under various regulatory systems for legal importation of timber into the European Union (EU) has been launched today in India.

Issue date: 
February 7, 2013; Feb. 12, 2013

Improving forest governance: A comparison of FLEGT VPAs and their impact

Ten years since the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Action P

Issue date: 
February 2013

ETTF reports analyse EUTR trade flow impacts

The first in a series of in-depth statistical reports have been released by the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF) in its programme for monitoring the impact of the EU Timber Regulation on trade flows.

Issue date: 
June 3rd, 2013

Multinationals reaping big from abusive forestry practices in DRC

Multinational companies are profiting hand over fist from abusive forestry practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where illegal logging, mislabelled timber and false permits are widespread, according to several non-governmental organisations.

Issue date: 
2010-May-11

News: European Parliament gets tough on illegal logging

EU suppliers of timber from illegal sources must pay fines that reflect the real environmental and economic damage done by illegal logging, said Environment Committee MEPs on Tuesday.

Issue date: 
Thursday 22 October 2015 09.19 BST

Europe failing to clamp down on illegal logging, report warns

Auditors say EU scheme to tackle $100bn global trade in illegal timber is poorly designed, badly managed and largely ineffective



by Dr. Radut