EU Policy on Forest Law enforcement and governance :
the EU FLEGT Action Plan, recent developmentsENPI FLEG II Steering Committee
Minsk, 1 October 2013
Mathieu BousquetHead of Sector Environment, Energy, Transport,
Regional programmes Neighbourhood East,DEVCO F3, European Commission
Forest – why important ?
1. For livelihoods: woodfuel, bushmeat, medicines, cultural value
2. For national economies
3. For development: jobs, incomes for national budget (exports, domestic market, woodfuel business)
4. For climate: local desertification, erosion, flood scale…
5. For ecosystem services: biodiversity, water, climate change
Illegal logging has many negative impacts
Environmental damage: forest degradation & biodiversity loss & contribution climate change
Social : on forest-dependent people
Economic : undermines livelihoods, reduces competitiveness of legitimate forest industry, revenue losses for Governments
undermines rule of law, fosters corruption
Why fighting against illegal logging ?
Asia : Bali, 2001
Africa : Yaoundé, 2003
St Petersburg : Europe and North Asia, 2005
Demand from partner countries
Pressure from our constituents
Setting an EU agenda for FLEG : the FLEGT Action Plan
- Using the trade component (access to markets) as an incentive : FLEG FLEGT
- Supporting technically and financially the efforts of our partners (development & cooperation)
- Anchoring commitments in legally binding treaties : voluntary partnership agreements (VPA)
- Key principles : respect country sovereignty, promote better governance, transparency and stakeholder participation
FLEGT Action Plan : main objectives Fight against illegal logging
Recognition that EU is part of the problem, as any consuming market
Propose a blend of policy measures to tackle the issue : demand side and supply side
FLEGT Action Plan : supply side1. Support to timber producing countries. Includes rechnical
and financial support to projects (ENPI FLEG I & II)
2. Voluntary partnership agreements
3. Support to national public procurement policies in timber prudicing countries that favour legal timber
4. Support to private sector initiatives and CSO initiatives in partner countries
FLEGT licenses (not yet)System developmentFormal negotiationsEntering into negotiationsPreparation, in-country consensus buildingIntroduction to VPAs
CongoC.A.R.
Malaysia
Indonesia
Cameroon
Ghana
Liberia
FLEGT VPA partner countries
September 2013
Gabon DRC
Vietnam
Thailand
Honduras
Laos
Cote d'Ivoire
Guyana
Already some tangible impacts
In Indonesia alone, a Chatham House study estimates that about 160 million m3 was saved from illegal logging (2000-2006). This represents about 7,8 million hectares of forests which
have been saved from serious degradation or destruction, or
slightly more forest than what the FAO estimates is lost every year world wide, or
equivalent to 2,5 times the area of Belgium.
Efforts against illegal logging in Indonesia and Cameroon between 2001 and 2006 resulted in :
Avoiding 1,6 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions (about 4% of current annual global human-induced carbon emissions)
Avoiding tax losses of 4 billion US$
FLEGT Action Plan : demand side National Procurement policies
Private certification schemes and codes of conducts
Transparency & accounting directives on forest investment
Adoption and entry into application of the timber regulation
The EU Timber regulation Adopted in 2010, entered into application 3 March 2013
Focus on EU operators. Their obligations : Due diligence = “operators” shall use procedures and measures called “due
diligence system” (DDS) to ensure that the timber they place on the market is not illegal
Prohibition to place illegally harvested timber or timber products on the EU market
Traceability = “traders” shall be able to identify their suppliers and customers
MS Competent authorities responsible for monitoring and enforcing this regulation
Thank you