FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT GOVERNANCE AND TRADE

1
FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT GOVERNANCE AND TRADE

• 29th COFO, 16-20 March 2009
• Roma, Italy
• Giuliana TORTA (ENV) Mathieu BOUSQUET (DEV)

2
THE FRAMEWORK

• EU FLEGT Action Plan (2003)
• FLEGT Regulation (2005)
• Voluntary Partnership Agreement
• 2008 Proposal for a Regulation
• To prevent illegally harvested timber and timber
  products to enter EU market

3
FLEGT THE EU RESPONSE TO INTL COMMITMENTS

• A new approach
• Shared responsibilities (EU Timber producing)
• Development Trade
• Demand Supply
• Commission Member States
• Voluntary Strengthen partner countrys ownership

4
V P A

• Voluntary Partnership Agreement
• A legally-binding agreement
• EU - Partner country
• Work together to stop illegal logging
• Targets/Objectives
• Governance transparency
• Policy and legal reform
• Capacity building measures
• Better capture revenues and rents
• Measures to mitigate negative impacts on poor
  people
• Licensing for defined exports to the EU based on
  LAS

5
How ?
6
Partners to date
Information
Negotiation
FLEGT licences
Pre-negotiation
Implementation
7
FLEGT VPA - Conclusion

• A BALANCE
• Quick ?? Deep
• Trade ?? Development
• In a context of shifting interests of wider
  universe
• DEVELOPPING STANDARDS
• Legality Definitions Legality assurance systems
• Involvement of stakeholders in forest governance

• A PROCESS
• Defined steps
• Guarantees stakeholders support and market
  confidence
• Strengthens partner countrys ownership of
  results
• A PLATFORM
• For stakeholder engagement
• Bringing new actors on forest issues

8
ACP FLEGT SUPPORT PROGRAMME

• Sharing of FLEGT-related information and
  knowledge at national, regional and intra ACP
  levels
• Strengthening of forest governance
• Strengthening of FLEGT-related institutions at
  national and regional level
• Pilot interventions that create added value
  and/or bridge critical gaps in FLEGT processes

9
POLICY CONTEXT FOR THE 2008 PROPOSED REGULATION

• Additional legislative options foreseen in FLEGT
  Action Plan
• Strong demand from EP, Council, some MS, NGOs and
  part of the industry
• To complement VPA approach
• VPA is limited in its reach
• Potential partners seek level playing field.
• US amendment to Lacey Act

10
NEW PROPOSED REGULATION 1/3

• OBJECTIVE
• to minimise the risk of illegally harvested
  timber timber products entering the EU market
• BASIC PRINCIPLES
• due diligence, system-based, risk management
• OBLIGATIONS
• for importers and EU primary producers
• Operators are responsible for knowing what they
  are buying from where, from whom, whether from
  legal harvest

11
NEW PROPOSED REGULATION 2/3

• LEGALITY definition On the basis of the
  legislation of the country of harvesting
• A comprehensive list of timber products
• Timber with FLEGT license /or CITES permit is
  considered as legally harvested
• The first placing on the market

12
NEW PROPOSED REGULATION 3/3

• EXPECTED BENEFITS
• Level the playing field foster a
  pro-competitive market environment
• Deter the marketing of illegally harvested timber
  by requesting operators to know their products
• Allow adequate flexibility to ensure effective
  implementation
• Incentivise uptake of FLEGT VPAs

13
Conclusions

• FLEGT contributions to other processes
• Tackling illegality contributes to Sustainable
  Forest Management
• FLEGT multistakeholder platform, once
  established, serves as a forum for wider sector
  policy making
• FLEGT VPAs introduce forest governance reforms at
  national level relevant for REDD implementation
  through
• Clarifying the legal framework for the forest
  sector
• Building capacity of government and non
  government institutions

14
Useful Internet links

• http//ec.europa.eu/development/policies/9interven
  tionareas/environment/forest/flegt_en.cfm
• http//ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm
• http//www.euflegt.efi.int

15

Thank you