Consumer Government Initiatives to Tackle Illegal Logging with emphasis on EU FLEGT initiative

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Consumer Government Initiatives to Tackle Illegal
Logging with emphasis on EU FLEGT initiative

• John Bazill
• DG Environment
• European Commission

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Government roles

• Legislation (national/ international) and
  enforcement
• Policy initiatives (backed by spending)
• Influence public opinion
• Role as a consumer itself

3
FLEG Processes

• 1998 G8 Forest Action Plan, included illegal
  logging component
• 2001 East Asia Forest Law Enforcement and
  Governance (FLEG) Ministerial Indonesia
• 2003 Africa FLEG Ministerial Cameroon
• 2005 Europe and North Asia (ENA) FLEG process
  initiated

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FLEG Processes

• Increased awareness of illegal logging problem
• Involve producer and consumer governments
• Political space in which difficult subjects can
  be discussed
• Political Declarations useful in fostering
  inter-governmental and inter-Ministerial work
• No specific implementation structure

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WSSD 2002

• Johannesburg Plan of Implementation includes
  reference to tackling illegal logging
• Congo Basin Forest Partnership (USA, South
  Africa)
• Asia Forest Partnership (Japan, Indonesia)
• European Commission announced FLEGT initiative

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Background EU factors

• EU a significant importer of timber from areas
  where illegal logging is said to occur
• Historical links with many timber-exporting
  countries awareness of impact of consumption
• Active environmental NGO movement and effective
  NGO publicity campaigns
• European Parliament and national parliaments in
  various EU countries demanding action

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2003 EU FLEGT Action Plan

• The FLEGT Action Plan adopted by the European
  Commission proposes supply-side and demand-side
  measures to combat illegal logging and associated
  trade
• Development co-operation
• FLEGT Partnerships proposal and related
  legislation
• Public procurement
• Private sector initiatives
• Financing and investment
• Use of existing criminal legislation

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Development co-operation

• Development co-operation will support
  producer-country efforts to combat illegal
  logging, including better enforcement of
  legislation, inter-agency cooperation and support
  to reform of legislation. Greater tax revenues
  an important incentive for many countries.
• New projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, SE Asia
• EC Tropical Forest Budget Line 5 global
  projects selected support to regional FLEG
  processes
• Further proposals being considered for Africa
• EU Member States also funding projects

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FLEGT Partnerships and Regulation

• Consumer countries also have a key role in
  reducing demand for illegally harvested timber.
• 2004 Commission proposal for a FLEGT Regulation
  and negotiation mandate for FLEGT Partnerships
  with interested countries
• Under discussion in the Council of the European
  Union

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FLEGT Partnerships and Regulation

• Countries establish legality licensing schemes
  issuing FLEGT legality licenses for timber
  exports to EU.
• Partnership Agreements with EU would allow the
  exclusion by EU Customs of timber from these
  countries without FLEGT legality license, using
  the legislative powers under the FLEGT
  Regulation.
• Consultations so far with Ghana, DR Congo,
  Gabon, COMIFAC, Malaysia and Indonesia
• Limited range of timber product categories
  proposed to be covered, at least initially

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Public Procurement Policies

• Public procurement (purchasing by government
  bodies) accounts for about 16 of EU GDP,
  important market segment
• New EU Public Procurement Directive, Green
  Procurement Handbook
• Governments at various levels within EU can
  establish procurement policies favouring timber
  from sustainably managed sources and excluding
  illegally harvested timber

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Private sector initiatives

• Recognition that illegal logging is undermining
  profitability of legitimate businesses
  undermining image of timber as a sustainable
  product.
• Dialogue on FLEGT with European industry
  federations
• Voluntary Codes of Conduct, Statements
• Project involving four EU industry federations
  launched
• Larger companies with reputational risk and
  more sophisticated supply chain systems seem
  better able to respond than the many small and
  medium companies

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Finance and investment

• Government-backed or private investment and
  lending may directly or indirectly facilitate
  illegal logging, eg.
• Export credit guarantees for pulp mills with
  insufficient resource base leading to pressure
  on conservation areas
• Road-building programmes in forested areas,
  funded by development cooperation
• Ongoing policy research work re safeguards,
  impact assessments

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Application of Existing Legislation

• Potential to apply existing criminal
  legislation in EU to importation of illegally
  harvested timber eg. concerning money laundering,
  handling of stolen goods, corruption, customs
  mis-declaration
• CITES for listed timber species
• Practical difficulties, but successful
  prosecutions could have large symbolic impact

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Conclusions

• Political declarations starting to be translated
  into action, but a work in progress
• Need better information useful work by ITTO on
  discrepancies in timber trade customs data,
  forthcoming work on shipping and timber trade
• As EU FLEGT approach is implemented the limited
  coverage of processed timber products and issues
  of trade diversion may lead to increased consumer
  pressure on countries or companies exporting
  processed timber products to the EU using timber
  from unknown or questionable sources.

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Conclusions

• In the long term interest of the forest sector to
  eliminate illegal logging.
• Challenge is to make sure everyone plays by the
  rules, so operators sourcing from questionable
  sources do not undercut those trying to source
  legally harvested timber
• Q. How can governments, business and civil
  society best work together to achieve this?
• Q. Can we identify complementary roles?

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Thank you