Expert Meeting on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance

Bucharest, 13-15 October 2008

An expert meeting on forest law enforcement and government took place in Bucharest between the 13th and the 15th of October 2008. The main objective of the conference was the presentation of the implementation stage of FLEGT. This was one of the major commitments of the countries participating in the Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE) that took place this May in Oslo.

Participants included representatives of the European Commission, of the Ministries of Agriculture from FLEGT participating countries and of prominent international organisations. Highlights from some of the speeches below:

Speaker / Speech / Main Ideas
Flip van Helden / EC-DG Environment / EU FLEGT action plan / The market sets the trend: the pressures for legal and sustainable timber are increasing.
The EU is taking a stepwise approach in implementing FLEGT. It will also provide incentives for change in partner countries. The EU should ensure the availability of legal timber whenever needed.
Developing countries need assistance in making the changes required by FLEGT.
The core of FLEGT is the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and the timber producing countries.
An important fact is that the definition of legality is based on the laws of the timber producing country. So it does not go against a state’s sovereignty.
The EU defines three types of countries: producing (e.g. Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana, Cameroon), processing (e.g. China, Vietnam) and consumer (Japan, USA, Australia, EU).
It is expected that the first lot of FLEGT timber enter the EU in 2010.
Flip van Helden / EC-DG Environment / FLEGT progress to date / The main reasons for a country to enter FLEGT are: market advantages, development benefits, development funding, country reputation and rivalry (e.g. the case of Malaysia and Indonesia), increased revenues through taxes.
Market incentives for legal timber have to be created.
FLEGT license has to become, gradually, a proof of legality.
The EU proposes ‘due diligence’ as the best legal option for implementing FLEGT. It aims at recognising the efforts of producers / traders that invest in the legality of their timber products.
Expected effects: a supply shift (imports from low risk rather than high risk suppliers) as an incentive to join FLEGT
Istvan Toke / Romania’s SUMAL / A software for timber flow control and for tracking wood origins. It is working since October 2008.
SUMAL generates estimation acts, reports on input and output in log yards.
The usage of SUMAL is compulsory: wood which is not part of SUMAL is considered illegal
The role of SUMAL: to keep records of properties, forest districts, actors involved in wood related industries, to cross check the conformity between log yards input and output.
All the wood in Romania, even the one imported from EU member states, has to be declared.