ITTO THEMATIC PROGRAMME ON

FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND TRADE (TFLET)PROGRAMME DOCUMENT

1 April 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
I.

II.

PLANNING ELEMENTS

3

1. RATIONALE AND PROBLEM ANALYSIS

3

2. OBJECTIVES

8

3. PROGRAMME STRATEGY

8

4. OUTCOMES/OUTPUTS/DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED IMPACTS/BENEFITS

12

5. OTHER PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

14

6. ACTIVITIES

15

7. WORK PLAN, INCLUDING BUDGET ESTIMATES AND DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS

17

OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS

19

ANNEX 1. PROBLEM TREE ANALYSIS OF THE TFLET THEMATIC PROGRAMME

21

ANNEX 2. THEMATIC PROGRAMME APPRAISAL PROCESS

22

2

I.

PLANNING ELEMENTS

1.

RATIONALE AND PROBLEM ANALYSIS

Rationale
Illegal forest activities contribute to the degradation of forests and undermine the contribution of the forest
sector to poverty alleviation, climate change mitigation and social and economic development. An unknown
volume of timber is illegally felled, processed and traded but it has been estimated that in some countries
illegal harvests exceed those that are officially sanctioned. Forest operations conducted against the law
under-value the resource, result in the degradation of the resource, and lead to sub-optimal socioeconomic
benefits for local people, unfair competition for legitimate operators and sub-optimal tax revenues for thestate as well as loss of environmental services.
As long as timber and timber products coming from illicit operations can find ready outlets both in thedomestic and export markets, the problems will continue to exist. Tropical timber trade involves complex
trade flows, often including trans-shipments and further processing in transit countries. Complexities incontrolling the timber trade include technical difficulties in identifying timber species, insufficient informationon the origin of processed products, a lack of commonly agreed scaling methods and conversion factors,
inadequate and inconsistent data collection, etc. Many loopholes exist for falsifying information anddocumentation.
There is a common perception that illegal operations are widespread in the tropical timber sector which taints
its image in major import markets. These markets have responded by introducing requirements for legality
and sustainability to provide assurance for buyers and consumers of the acceptability of using tropical timber
and timber products. In these markets it has become increasingly unacceptable to use illegal timber products
in public and private purchasing. At the same time, the hurried imposition of various market requirements
poses difficulties of market access to many tropical timber suppliers who may be ill equipped to meet theserequirements, particularly community and other small and medium-scale forest–based enterprises (SMEs).
Thus it is clear that international trade can be an important element in addressing forest law enforcement andgovernance, and close cooperation between producer and consumer countries is required in order to avoid
possible adverse impacts of unilaterally imposed market requirements.
The International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA), 2006, contains commitments on: strengthening thecapacity of members to improve forest law enforcement and governance, and address illegal logging andrelated trade in tropical timber; improving the marketing and distribution of tropical timber and timber productexports from sustainably managed and legally harvested sources; contributing to sustainable development
and poverty alleviation; and recognizing the role of forest-dependent indigenous and local communities inachieving sustainable forest management and developing strategies to enhance the capacity of these1communities to sustainably manage timber producing forests.
In 2007 the ITTO began implementing activities under a precursor of the TFLET Thematic Programme. The
objectives of the precursor programme, as well as activities under implementation, are integrated into thisTFLET Thematic Programme, which also takes into account the administrative arrangements put in place forthe existing activities. The TFLET Thematic Programme also builds on relevant activities defined in the ITTO
Action Plan 2008-2011 and ITTO’s biennial work programme (2008-2009), as well as other work conductedpreviously by the Organization.
Problem Analysis
Several analyses of the problems leading to illegal logging have underscored weak governance andenforcement as well as the contributing role of timber trade and markets 2 . However, the situation varies bycountry depending on the political institutional and legal context, as well as the forest management system,
forest product markets, social factors and traditions in place.

1
2

ITTA, 2006 Art. 1 (n), (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (h), (k), (l), (m), (o), and (r).
E.g. ITTO/FAO. 2005. Best Practices for Improving Forest Compliance in the Forest Sector. FAO Forestry Paper 145. Rome;Contreras Hermosilla, A., Dornbush, R. & Lodge, M. 2007. The Economics of Illegal Logging and Associated Trade. Roundtable on
Sustainable Development. OECD SG/SD/RT(2007)1/REV.; Kaimowitz, D. 2003. Forest Law Enforcement and Rural Livelihoods.
International Forestry Review 5(3) 199-210; Tacconi, L, Boscolo, M. & Brack, D. 2003. National and International Policies to Control
Illegal Forest Activities. CIFOR.; World Bank. 2006. Strengthening Forest Law Enforcement and Governance. Report No. 26638-GLB.
Washington, D.C.

3

A recent analysis by ITTO and FAO 3 found five general factors contributing to illegal activities in the forest
sector:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

3

Flawed policy and legal framework which results in distorted economic incentives promoting illicit
operations. Legislation may be inconsistent, unrealistic and not enforceable, leaving importantelements undefined such as forest land tenure and use rights. Where there is excessive regulation thetransaction costs of legal operations become prohibitively high and are perceived as unfair, making it
impractical or even impossible to respect the law. This is particularly the case for community forests
and SMEs which are often not well equipped to comply with extensive documentary procedures andmay therefore operate outside the law. In countries with a high level of informality or illegal operations
the economic contribution of the forest sector is grossly under-reported in official data. There is a lackof understanding of the full impacts of illegal operations for socio-economic development, fiscal
revenue, and environmental conservation among policy makers to push them to implement necessaryreforms.
Minimal enforcement capacity is due to institutional weaknesses often coupled with a lack oftransparency in the implementation of the policy and legal framework. For example, inadequate intersectoral and inter-agency coordination, overlapping mandates and lack of clarity in the executive andjudiciary roles tend to contribute to weak enforcement. Due to powerful political interests directly or
indirectly involved in illegal forest operations, and a lack of alternative economic opportunities for local
people, there is not enough public pressure to tackle illegal forest activities leading to their silent
acceptance. Lack of intra and inter-agency coordination between enforcement and judicial bodies
makes the risk of being caught and prosecuted low indirectly encouraging illegal operations. Excessive
discretionary powers, a lack of procedural transparency and inexistent mechanisms for resolving
disputes and conflicts lead to corruption and lack of proper implementation.
Insufficient data about the condition of forest resource and its change over time, timber production,
domestic consumption of timber and wood products, illegal operations, timber flows within the country
and across-borders make it difficult to reliably monitor what is happening in the forests and the supply
chain. The quality of statistical systems is weak, the dissemination of data is usually limited, and thelittle existing information is not effectively used by stakeholders. Due to lack of political will and budget
constraints, advanced technologies for monitoring and control of forest resources and production are
not applied and stakeholders are excluded from monitoring activities.
Corruption in the private sector and government is possible due to a lack of transparency in policy
implementation, marginalization of the rural poor and a lack of public pressure to tackle the problem.
Of particular concern is corruption related to the allocation of concession and use rights, the control offorest harvesting and timber transportation, and avoidance of paying taxes and fees. A lack of respect
for regulations on industrial capacity can lead to an excessive demand for logs, driving illegal forest
land conversion, logging in national parks and other conservation areas, and unsustainable harvestingin production forests. Weakly organized stakeholder constituencies are unable to monitor timber
harvesting and trade and to bring the issues to the attention of the regulatory agencies. Forest-related
corruption can be linked with organized crime and in such circumstances represents a particularchallenge for strengthening forest governance.
Market conditions for wood products in domestic and export markets make it difficult and complex touse price and other market-based mechanisms (such as certification and labeling) to change thebehavior of those who are acting illegally. As the magnitude of the problem is poorly known, the effects
on prices and timber demand of illegal logging and trade are not well understood by suppliers. At thesame time there have been ready outlets for low-priced illegally harvested tropical timber and timber
products both in the domestic and export markets. On the other hand, markets do not (and are notexpected to) provide premiums for producers who can demonstrate legality of their operations as thisis generally assumed to be the case. As a consequence, those facing higher costs associated withefforts to meet and demonstrate that they meet legal requirements are often at a disadvantage incompeting with illegal operators. Although there are clear benefits from improved governance (better
control, better revenue collection, etc.) for governments and legally operating producers, this is not yet
broadly recognized in many countries. Uncertainty about the expected export market benefits as wellas constantly changing goal-posts of different international market requirements related to legality andsustainability tend to make it difficult for tropical timber producers to take systematic corrective action
which requires a long-term investment. Without broader government support and implementation ofnecessary improvements in policy, legislation enforcement and transparency, individual industry efforts
are likely to remain ineffective. This situation calls for concerted action through policy reforms,
strengthening of information systems (including trade data), improved enforcement and public-private
partnerships. At the international level, coordinated, consistent approaches are most likely to
ITTO/FAO. 2005. ibid.

4

encourage governments and industries in tropical timber producing countries to improve governanceand combat illegal production. Common approaches and guidance for tropical timber producers canfacilitate action to meet market requirements.
A general underlying factor related to weak governance and illegal logging and illegal trade is poverty. In
many communities people have no other option than to rely on informal or illegal forest activities for theirlivelihoods. On the other hand, forest-dependent communities and small and medium-sized enterprises,
often selling their products through intermediaries, are poorly equipped to benefit from market opportunities
for tropical timber and timber products, and to demonstrate legal compliance and sustainability of theiroperations in order to meet the respective market requirements.
The key problem addressed by the TFLET Programme is the weak capacity in forest law enforcement andgovernance. The Programme seeks to address this problem through a variety of activities and approaches
that promote production and trade from legal sources. The Programme also seeks to address related
constraints such as the lack of capability among forest communities, indigenous groups and forest owners tocontrol resources and implement SFM.
The impacts of the prevailing situation cover a broad range of social, economic and environmental effects.
Social impacts include the marginalization of forest communities, the unfair distribution of forest benefits, anda limited access to the forest resource by the rural poor. These contribute to rural poverty, social conflicts
and a lack of security in forest areas. On the economic front, illegal logging and associated trade lead to alack of level playing field among producers putting responsible operators at a disadvantage, and leading to alack of competitiveness for those operators implementing sustainable forest management (SFM). Of
particular concern is the continued marginalization of community enterprises and SMEs. A negative image oftropical timber leads to market access restrictions contributing to reduced trade in primary and further
processed tropical timber products. All these factors mean loss of employment and income undermining thedevelopment opportunities offered by the forest sector.
The environmental impacts of illegal logging include increased carbon dioxide emissions due to forest
degradation and inappropriate conversion of forests to other uses, coupled with loss of biodiversity, threat toendangered species, soil erosion, and degradation of watersheds. Large tracts of tropical forest havebecome degraded, reducing the ability of small-scale farmers and other producers to supplement meager
cash incomes with traditional foods, medicines and building materials from nearby forests. This has aparticularly adverse impact on women and children who are often involved in the collection of fuelwood andnon-timber forest products (NTFPs) as part of their basic livelihoods.
A lack of clarity on land tenure and use rights as well as limited access to finance, training and markets often
prevent local communities from appropriately developing the land and forests on which they live. Some
communities are forced to operate outside the law in order to exploit timber and other forest resources; thisdiminishes both the value of the products produced and, because there is often an absence of proper
management, reduces the quality of the resource. Many communities are unable to prevent outsiders fromentering customary lands and extracting timber and other products, often in a highly damaging way, and are
given little or nothing by way of compensation. Illegal logging, therefore, not only degrades the forest
resource, but it also robs communities of development opportunities and perpetuates a cycle of poverty. It isnecessary to offer alternative economic opportunities for people depending on illegal logging for theirincome. An indicative problem tree analysis of the TFLET Programme is given in Annex 1.
Relevant International and Regional Work
The TFLET Thematic Programme fully conforms with the policies of ITTO producer and developing member
countries, many of whom already participate in intergovernmental processes such as the World Bank led
regional Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) processes, the European Union’s Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, the ITTO/FAO regional workshop process onforest law compliance and governance, and other regional efforts such as by the Central African Forestry
Commission (COMIFAC), the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, the Asian Forest Partnership, ASEAN, theAmazon Treaty Organization (OTCA), etc.
While the EU FLEGT Action Plan provides measures to support developing countries to achieve improved
forest governance, it also provides for Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between developing timber
producing countries and the EU. Partner countries are expected to implement a timber licensing scheme andEU border control agencies allow imports from these countries only if they are accompanied by FLEGT
licenses. The EU is providing support to tropical timber producing countries which are interested in signing
VPAs through the EU FLEGT Facility which assists countries in assessing and improving legality assurance5systems, policy analysis, and communication activities. The recently launched Regional Support Programme
for the EU FLEGT Action Plan in Asia (FLEGT Asia) is aimed at contributing to poverty reduction andsustainable management of natural resources in that region. The programme will facilitate improvement of
the information base, support strengthening of relevant institutions and initiatives and cooperation between
enforcement agencies in the region. Another recently launched EU FLEGT programme for Africa-CaribbeanPacific (EU FLEGT-ACP) implemented by FAO will provide funding for proposals from stakeholders to
improve forest governance in these countries.
Many bilateral development programmes target at strengthening of forest governance. In addition, a numberof NGOs are actively working to improve transparency of international timber trade and to monitor and detect
illegal logging and trade.
In October 2008 the European Commission published a draft regulation aimed at recognizing the efforts ofproducers and traders that invest in ensuring the legality of their timber products. Operators placing timberand products made thereof for first time to the EU market will have to demonstrate due diligence in order tominimize the risk of importing illegally harvested timber. The draft regulation, if approved, would impose
significant new requirements on tropical timber suppliers and importers in terms of provision of information,
control systems, risk management, audits, and monitoring organizations.
The United States of America has recently amended the Lacey Act aimed at combating illegal logging andexpanding anti-trafficking protection to a broader set of plants and plant products by making it unlawful toimport, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plants or
products made from plants that were harvested or taken in violation of a domestic or foreign law. The Act
gives the government the power to fine and jail individuals and companies that import timber products
harvested, transported or sold in violation of the laws of the country in which the timber was originallyharvested. In any prosecution, the burden of proof is on the government to demonstrate that the violators
knew or should have known of the underlying violation. The amended Act includes new import declaration
requirements that require information on the tree species of imported wood products and the name of thecountry where the timber was harvested. Importers can be expected to seek this information from their
suppliers and to encourage the use of methods that provide them assurance that, when buying tropicaltimber products, they will not be at risk for prosecution.
The new legislative measures in the USA and the EU, and a number of similar instruments currently underdiscussion in countries such as Switzerland, Norway, and New Zealand will provide a robust incentive fortropical timber producers and exporters to stamp out illegal practices in forest management and timber tradeand encourage them to make rapid progress towards the demonstration of legal compliance. The US and the
EU regulations are not identical and reflect different approaches but are likely to have similar impacts forexporters to these markets.
About 10 countries (including Brazil, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and several EU member states) arecurrently implementing public procurement policies on timber and wood-based products which act as anadditional demand driver for supplies coming from legal and/or sustainable sources. Individual public
procurement policies employ different approaches in their criteria and procedures for how suppliers candemonstrate that their products meet the procurement criteria and this diversity is a potential obstacle forexporters supplying different markets.
Achieving verified legal compliance and sustainability of forest operations within a short time period is a hugechallenge for many tropical timber producers and it is apparent that they will require significant support tomeet the mounting and diverse market requirements in order to maintain their market shares. Several bodies
are presently applying their own standards or definitions of legality which is likely to create confusion and canlimit efficiency and effectiveness of procurement policies due to the multitude of approaches. Common
approaches or standards at international level would facilitate implementation but flexibility is needed toadapt them to local conditions in tropical timber producing countries which vary extensively in terms of thelegal framework and institutional set-up. The goal for many countries would be to carry out legality assurance
through national systems rather than relying on private sector service providers. Common approaches canfacilitate building up such national systems and thereby trade, provide an adequate framework for various
private sector initiatives, and promote reliable communication on tropical timber products that aredemonstrably coming from legally produced products.
Countries involved in the international tropical timber trade are cooperating to regulate the trade ofendangered tree species through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild6

Fauna and Flora (CITES) which presently lists a few tropical timber species 4 in its Appendix II. ITTO iscurrently implementing a joint programme with CITES to strengthen capacity of countries to implement
CITES requirements for listed tropical timber species.
Added Value of the TFLET Thematic Programme
ITTO is uniquely placed to tackle key drivers of weak governance and slow development of tropical timbertrade from legal and sustainable sources at different levels. Several ITTO projects have addressed forest law
enforcement and governance in specific countries, and capacity-building activities have been implemented toincrease the ability of tropical ITTO member countries to enforce forest laws and improve governance.
Through its broad membership covering over 90% of global tropical timber trade and about 80% of the total
forest area in tropical countries, ITTO has a strong potential to enhance trade-related initiatives such as the
WB regional FLEG processes, the EU FLEGT Action Plan and various bilateral programmes and initiatives
as well as actions to help ensure that exporters meet the requirements of the US Lacey Act. ITTO can also
assist the many timber producing countries that are actively taking measures to combat illegal logging within
their own jurisdiction. As a common forum for tropical timber producers and consumers, ITTO is in a strong
position to undertake work to link improved governance with trade-related initiatives by providing a uniqueservice for exchange of information and lessons learned.
5

In governance reforms, success critically depends on the existence of political will . As an intergovernmentalorganization, ITTO has access to key policy makers of its member countries and a demonstrated ability to
influence the development of national policies and legislation in tropical timber producing countries. For
example, an ITTO project was instrumental in the development of Peru’s new Forestry and Wildlife Law,
while another ITTO project has been assisting in the law’s implementation. In Indonesia, ITTO’s support was
instrumental in building up national capacity for forest certification. ITTO’s diagnostic missions carried out todate in a total of 23 member countries have invariably looked into governance issues and thereby
contributed to awareness-raising among policymakers and often to changes in forest policy and regulations.
ITTO’s role in this respect is particularly important in countries which are not major exporters of tropicaltimber and therefore not significantly impacted by international market requirements.
Through its multilateral approach which puts the consumers and producers of tropical timber on an equal
footing, the Organization significantly contributes to spreading political awareness on the importance of
combating illegal logging and illegal timber trade among its members. By engaging both producing andconsuming countries in an effective continuous dialogue in a joint neutral forum, ITTO has a strong
competitive advantage in addressing issues related to the trade in tropical timber and its impacts on poverty,
sustainable management of tropical forests and environmental conservation. The Organization’s maincompetitive advantage is in supporting participating countries to implement commitments made on
international and regional levels related to forest governance and combating illegal logging and illegal timbertrade. For example, through its policy work, ITTO has been able to promote convergence and comparability
between forest certification systems and acceptance of phased approaches to certification to facilitate
implementation in producing member countries. The TFLET Thematic Programme’s contribution to theenabling conditions in the forest sector of ITTO’s member countries is also important in view of accessing
international transfer payments from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation(REDD) mechanisms in the post 2012-climate change regime and other international payment schemes forforest environmental services.
ITTO has been working for many years to improve transparency in the sector. It has a substantial
programme to train forest statisticians, publishes an annual review of the world timber situation as well as
disseminates tropical timber prices and market news in the bi-weekly Tropical Timber Market Report. It has
published Status of Forest Management in the Tropics 2005, the most comprehensive assessment of forest
management in the tropics, and is in the process of updating this report. ITTO is also working to improveforest law compliance at the field level through projects and other activities, including through a major
training program in the application of ITTO’s Criteria and Indicators for sustainable forest management which
also cover policy and institutional aspects.
ITTO has effectively engaged with the private sector through its Trade Advisory Group (TAG) and is helping
to improve private-sector practices in many ITTO member countries. ITTO has also engaged local, regional
and international civil society organizations through its Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG). As an example
ITTO has piloted a program that brings private-sector and civil-society organizations together to improveforest operations and governance in order to obtain certification for specific forest areas. The private sector
45

The most important ones are Swietenia macrophylla (mahogany), Gonystylus spp. (ramin) and Pericopsis elata (afrormosia)
E.g. Brown, D. et al. 2008. Legal Timber. Verification and Governance in the Forest Sector. Overseas Development Institution

7

has received support to develop capacity to demonstrate legality and sustainability. Innovative timbertracking practices have been piloted to assist individual producers to make substantiated claims on the legal
origin of the products supplied to international markets.
Several local and national partnerships have already been facilitated by the precursor phase of the TFLET
project program, mainly to help individual companies make progress towards legal compliance andsustainability. Several projects have been implemented by local organizations in collaboration withinternational organizations, national civil society and private sector organizations, and/or government
agencies. The TFLET program builds upon experiences on experiences obtained through thesepartnerships.
There are strong synergies between the ITTO-CITES Programme and the TFLET Thematic Programme asboth have to address the same issues of eliminating illegal forest operations and strengthening of forest
governance, enforcement of national legislation, monitoring and control of trade. Through coordinatedimplementation, important synergies can be harnessed to improve the effectiveness of both programmes.
Due to the fundamental importance of good governance for the maintenance and enhancement of forest
environmental services, strengthening of governance and law compliance is also a common theme with the
ITTO REDDES Thematic Programme and therefore the relevant activities of the two programmes will beclosely coordinated to maximize their effectiveness. Without adequate forest governance it will be impossible
to implement REDDES and other international initiatives related to reduced deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD).
The TFLET Programme also complements the Thematic Programmes on Trade and Market Transparency,
Community Forestry and Enterprises, and Industry Development and Efficiency by building up critical
capacity in forest governance and combating illegal logging and trade thereby providing enabling conditions
for broader development of sustainable forest management, further processing, and trade from legally
harvested and sustainably managed sources.

2.

OBJECTIVES

The general objective of the Thematic Programme is to improve national forest law enforcement andgovernance in tropical ITTO member countries in order toenhance and diversify international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed forests, andhelp alleviate poverty in those countries.

The specific objectives of the Programme are to:
1. Strengthen forest law compliance and governance through improved national policy and legal
frameworks, strengthened enforcement and other institutions, improved data and knowledge,
strengthened partnerships and improved cooperation among the private sector, civil society
organizations and other stakeholders;
2. Improve transparency and effective management of supply chains and increased domestic andinternational trade in legally produced tropical timber;
3. Improve capacity of community and small and medium-sized enterprises to implement anddemonstrate that timber produced and traded comes from legal sources contributing to sustainable
livelihoods; and4. Improve international cooperation in forest law enforcement and governance among ITTO member
countries and other related international initiatives.

3.

PROGRAMME STRATEGY

The strategy recognizes that strengthening forest governance and elimination of illegal logging and illegal
trade are a shared responsibility between producer and consumer countries. The strategy comprises fourmain areas of intervention: (i) strengthening of forest law enforcement and governance by governments, andcapacity of local communities, indigenous groups, the private sector, civil society organizations and otherstakeholders in law compliance and contributing to improved governance; (ii) support to production andmarketing of legally produced tropical timber and effective management of supply chains; (iii) strengtheningof capacity among community forest enterprises and other SMEs to control their forests and implement SFM,
and (iv) strengthening of international and regional cooperation.
8

The Programme’s cross-cutting general objective of poverty reduction is not limited to targeted actions for
employment and income generation among poor forest-dependent communities but it is also addressed
under strengthening of law compliance and the legal and policy framework, trade promotion and international
cooperation, as appropriate.
The Programme complements ITTO’s work on policy and transparency by intensifying its work withgovernment, private-sector and civil-society actors. As a cross-cutting strategy, the Programme encourages
and facilitates partnerships between government agencies, civil society organizations and private companies
in order to increase the involvement of local communities and indigenous groups in forest management,
production and benefit-sharing, and to improve market access for their products from legal sources.
The underlying principle of promoting partnerships is to fully engage local and indigenous communities
depending on the conservation and sustainable use of tropical forest resources in forest management,
production, trade, and sustainable use of timber and non-timber forest products. With the involvement of thecivil-society organizations, the Programme will facilitate partnership-building processes between local
communities and SMEs (including community-based forest enterprises). This leads to greater empowermentof local communities in decision-making on forest resource use and the equitable sharing of costs andbenefits from such use.
In strengthening of forest governance the Programme focuses on five areas: (a) improvement of policy andlegal frameworks and strengthening of institutions, including enhanced inter-agency cooperation andcooperation at different levels of government, (b) improved data collection and analysis, and knowledge
dissemination, (c) enhancement of civil society and private sector organizations to contribute to law
compliance, (d) strengthening of educational institutions and civil society capacity building organizations, and(e) strengthening of national, regional and international cooperation. A systematic approach to governanceimprovement is promoted through diagnosis and elaboration and implementation of national action plans tocombat illicit operations drawing on available guidance documents 6 . Participatory approaches are supported
involving all the relevant stakeholder groups such as the private sector, civil society organizations,community forest enterprises and other SMEs, forest industries, and other groups depending on the forests.
In supporting trade in legally produced tropical timber and effective management of supply chains, theProgramme interventions include support to: (a) implementation of timber-tracking systems, (b) national
stakeholders in responding to market requirements, (c) development and implementation of timber
procurement policies in member countries, (d) promotion of policy dialogue and exchange of experience oninternational and domestic market requirements, (e) market promotion of legally produced tropical timber,and (f) assessment and dissemination of advanced technologies for monitoring and control of timber flows.
In capacity building of community forest enterprises and other SMEs the Programme focuses on planningand implementation of SFM, reduced impact logging, monitoring, verification and certification, management
and information systems, human resource development, marketing and communication as well as otheraspects of business development to produce and trade timber products from legal and sustainable sources.
Development of networks, associations and other cooperative arrangements are also promoted as well as
partnerships between community and other SMEs as well as civil society organizations and the private
sector.
In international cooperation the Programme interventions are targeted at supporting country efforts tostrengthen forest governance, reduce poverty and diversify trade. This will involve (a) improvement of dataand information and its effective sharing, (b) strengthening of regional, cross-country and international
cooperation mechanisms, (c) promotion of international policy dialogue and improved convergence amongmarket requirements for legality, (d) knowledge management and (e) development of partnerships.
The target groups are forest-dependent communities, indigenous groups, SMEs, forest industries,
government agencies, private sector organizations, the civil society and knowledge institutions. The
participating stakeholders are expected to share a commitment to the Programme objectives, willingness tofoster genuine partnerships with forest stakeholders, and to find solutions to forest resource managementthat leads not only to improved forest management but also to local economic development, including
improvement in the situation of women.
The Programme will be implemented in a demand-driven and flexible manner. Potential beneficiaries can, in
consultation with ITTO and other stakeholders, determine the exact nature of the activities they undertake
6

FAO/ITTO. 2008. ibid.; World Bank. 2006. Guidelines Formulation and Implementation of National Action Plans to Combat Illegal
Logging and Other Forest Crime. World Bank Technical Paper. Draft June 2006.

9through the programme. In order to ensure the achievement of all the specific objectives of the Thematic
Programme, a number of targeted activities have been included for this purpose, particularly for assisting
forest-dependent communities and SMEs and their organizations in preparing submissions (see section 6).
The main instrument of Programme implementation is providing support to the implementation ofprojects/pre-projects/activities proposed by stakeholders in the ITTO member countries and submitted
through the national ITTO focal points to ensure a coordinated approach. These proposals should fall under
one or more of the four strategic areas of the TFLET Programme. In addition, a number of ITTO
implemented activities are carried out in capacity building, international and regional cooperation, knowledge
sharing and other strategic areas which will directly contribute to efforts in member countries.
Civil-society, private-sector (especially SMEs), forest communities, indigenous groups and governmentorganizations from ITTO member countries will be encouraged to collaborate in the preparation andsubmission of proposals in partnership that demonstrate an ability to jointly contribute to the overall
objectives of the Programme.
The main Programme risks and how they can be addressed are as follows:
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(v)
(vi)

(vii)

Political environment for policy and governance improvement may not be favorable in all countries
but a commitment to improvements in governance is necessary for sustained results of theProgramme. In order to mitigate possible adverse changes in the political environment, specificactions have been designed to contribute to increased awareness among politicians, decision
makers and the general public emphasizing the social, economic and environmental benefits of
combating illegal logging as well as improved transparency.
There is a risk that vested interests block improvement of forest tenure arrangements, thetransparent application of procedures to determine other users’ rights and better benefit sharing
mechanisms for local communities and indigenous groups. It is also possible that common visions
on how to strengthen forest law enforcement and governance cannot be created, making
Programme implementation difficult. Improved forest sector transparency and broad-based
involvement of all the relevant stakeholders in the Programme activities are expected to mitigate
against this source of risk.
It is possible that export market requirements are seen to be, or actually become too difficult fortropical timber producers, particularly for community enterprises and other SMEs. In addition,
conditions in markets (such as weak demand and/or the absence of price-based rewards for legallyproduced timber and products) may not provide sufficient incentives for timber producers andoperators. The Programme strategy therefore includes provisions for policy dialogue and actions toaddress market requirements (such as public procurement policies) in order to help ensure that they
are achievable by tropical timber producers and to promote the use of cost-efficient procedures(such as those for monitoring, verification and certification) that can be implemented by small-scale
operators.
There is a risk of inadequate recognition of the benefits of regional and cross-border cooperation
which is necessary for addressing illegal trade. National commercial and economic interests may
override benefits of regional and cross-border cooperation which is necessary for addressing illegal
trade in forest products. The Programme therefore includes targeted activities for ensuring
cooperation between forest, customs and other related authorities of trading partners to strengthen
monitoring and control of tropical timber trade.
Adequate project proposals by forest-dependent communities and SMEs may not be received. Thisis addressed by promotional activities and targeted capacity building among these beneficiaries tofacilitate the elaboration of such proposals that can meet the Programme criteria.
Operational cooperation and coordination with related initiatives may not be successful atinternational, regional and country levels. This risk will be addressed through transparent
implementation, active contacts with other key actors and processes, and their direct engagement in
the Programme’s activities as appropriate.
Adequate financing should be made available including counterpart financing. Targeted fundraisingefforts should therefore be included in the Programme’s detailed annual work plans.

In accordance with the Decision 9/(XLIV) of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC), the TFLET
Thematic Programme is to be implemented on a pilot basis during the first three years after which theeffectiveness of its operation will be reviewed and evaluated by the ITTC.

10

Figure 1.

Programme
scope-Capacity
building inforest law
enforcement
andgovernance

TFLET Programme Strategy

Country level
Strengthening forest
law enforcement andgovernanceSupport to trade inlegally/sustainably produced
tropical timber and effective
supply chains

Strengthening
capacity ofcommunity andother SMEs

Targetgroups-ultimate- Tradedevelopment- Capacity offorestcommunities,
the private
sector(especiallySMEs), civilsocietyorganizations
and otherstakeholders-intermediate

Regional and international level
Strengthening ofinternational/
regional /crosscountry
cooperation

International
policydialogue andconvergence

Technology
assessment

Knowledge
management,
networking,information
sharing

11

Cooperation andpartnerships withinternational andregional initiatives

Specific
objectives-strengthen
governance-improvetransparency, supply
chains andtrade-improvecommunity
and SMEcapacity,- international
cooperation

Generalobjective-improve law
enforcement
andgovernance-reducepoverty-diversify
trade

4.

OUTCOMES/OUTPUTS, DELIVERABLES AND EXPECTED IMPACTS/BENEFITS

Outcomes/Outputs/Deliverables
Table 1.

Outcomes, Outputs and Deliverables of the TFLET ProgrammeSpecific objective
A. Strengthen forest law
compliance and governancethrough improved national policy
and legal frameworks,
strengthened enforcement andother institutions, improved data
and knowledge, strengthened
partnerships and improved
cooperation among the private
sector, civil society organizations
and other stakeholders

Outcomes
Improvement in the efficiency andeffectiveness of forest law
enforcement and governance

B. Improve transparency andeffective management of supply
chains and increased domestic
and international trade in legally
produced tropical timber

Increased market opportunities forlegally and sustainably produced
timber from tropical forests bysupporting business-to-businessinitiatives- Ensured market access forcompetitive tropical timber products
from legal/ sustainable sources- Increased opportunities in the public
sector markets for legally produced
tropical timber and timber products- Appropriate public procurement
policies related to timber

Enhanced capacity of tradeassociations and civil-society
organizations, in particular those- Functioning partnerships establishedamong civil society organizations, theprivate sector and government

Better enforcement of forest laws
and regulations through chain ofcustody and tracking and tracing
systems and improved verificationand monitoring procedures.

Outputs- Improved access to forest resources
by forest communities and otherforest-dependent people- Multi-stakeholder platforms for policy
dialogue on forest governance- National action plans forstrengthening forest governance andlaw compliance- Improved data and knowledge on
illegal logging and trade- Improved verification and monitoringprocedures for legal compliance- Assessment of appropriatetechnologies for chain of custody,
tracking and tracing

12

Deliverables- Evidence on policy and legal changes onforest tenure and their implementation- Evidence on participatory processes
applied in policy and programme design- Evidence on adoption and implementationof national action plans to strengthen
governance- Improved forest and trade statisticalsystems and reporting- Evidence on reduced illegal logging andillegal trade- Increased production of timber and timber
products as verified from legal/sustainablesources- Improved management systems, such as
chain of custody, tracking and tracing
systems adopted- Compendium of tracking and tracing
technologies and evidence on
dissemination- Increased volumes of traded tropicaltimber and timber products from legal
sources- Increased exports/avoidance loss of sales
to markets with limited or no access forillegal timber and timber products- Number of B2B initiatives implemented- Public procurement policies assessed anddeveloped- Evidence on increased capacity among
trade associations and civil society
organizations in policy implementation

Specific objective

Outcomes
representing local groups andworkers in the forest sector, to be
involved and actively participate in
the development andimplementation of policies andprogrammes on tropical forest
management and timber trade

C. Improve capacity of communityand small and medium-sizedenterprises to implement anddemonstrate that timber
produced and traded comesfrom legal sources contributing
to sustainable livelihoods

Enhanced capacity of forestdependent and local communities toimprove governance andsustainably manage their forests inorder to alleviate poverty
Enhanced capacity of small andmedium-sized enterprises inharvesting, processing and handlingtimber from legal and sustainably
managed sources

D. Improve international
cooperation in forest law
enforcement and governanceamong ITTO member countries
and other related international
initiatives.

Policies and programmes toimprove forest law enforcement andgovernance, contributing to theimplementation of international
objectives as agreed in the ITTA,
UNFF, CITES, CBD and UNFCCC
Improved effectiveness of otherinitiatives and bilateral and otherinternational programmes targeted
at strengthening of governance andcombating illegal logging and illegal
trade

Outputs
agencies in monitoring of timber
flows and legal compliance and originof tropical timber supplies- Capacity building activities
undertaken among civil society
organizations- Approved codes of conducts of tradeassociations and demonstration ofcommitments to their implementation- Increased production of tropicaltimber from legal and sustainablesources- Capacity building activities
undertaken in communities- Increased production of tropicaltimber from legal sources by SMEs
- Capacity building activities
undertaken for SMEs
- Increased number of SMEs operatingin the formal sector- International policy development
activities undertaken- Regional and international
cooperation initiatives implemented- Information sharing and knowledge
management activities undertaken

13

Deliverables- Number of codes of conduct adopted- Number of enterprises committed to codesof conduct- Number of effective partnerships inoperation- Number of communities with evidence on
improved capacity to effectively control
and sustainably manage their forests- Number of partnerships with community
forest enterprises- Number of SMEs with production fromlegal and sustainably managed sources- Number of partnerships with SMEs
- Number of SMEs registered as formal
operators- Evidence on improved regional andinternational cooperation- Evidence on appropriateness and reduced
diversity of market requirements related totropical timber from legal/sustainablesources- Evidence on existence and effectivefunctioning of information sharing
mechanisms

Indicators and means of verification for outputs and deliverables will be developed in connection with setting the
medium-term targets of the Programme. Collection of baseline information will be included in relevant individual
project and other interventions to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of Programme outputs, outcomes andimpacts.
Expected Impacts/Benefits
The environmental benefits of the Programme derive from reduction in illegal activities which will contribute to
reduction of deforestation and degradation of tropical forests. This will also contribute to the maintenance andenhancement of forest environmental services such as climate change mitigation, biodiversity, soil and water
conservation, amenity etc. The social and economic impacts of the Programme are identified by target groups asfollows:
For governments the Programme provides benefits through rationalization of the policy and legal framework
through informed decision making, expanded trade with increased employment and income, stronger
enforcement with improved cost-efficiency as a result of stakeholder engagement in monitoring, increased fiscal
revenues, reduced conflicts in forest areas, reduced deforestation and forest degradation leading to less carbon
emissions and loss of biodiversity, and a better country image for investment in the forest and other sectors suchas tourism
For forest communities, indigenous groups and other forest dependent people the Programme contributes toreduced rural poverty, secured access to forest resources, increased employment and income for forest
communities, improved distribution of benefits, less social conflicts, improved security in forest areas andimproved social capital among forest communities. Realizing these positive impacts requires effective
mechanisms of benefit sharing.
For the private sector the benefits would derive from improved competitiveness of legally produced andprocessed tropical timber and timber products, reduced transaction costs of legal production and trade,development of due diligence systems, improved risk management, as well as improved market information andknowledge.
For SMEs the Programme provides tools to expand their production and trade from legal sources, including
improved control and verification of their supply chains, with resulting improvements in the competitiveness of
their operations. The Programme will also contribute to their capacity to implement reduced impact logging, andother elements of SFM.
For civil society organizations the Programme’s benefits are enhanced capacity for participating in policy andlegal reforms, monitoring of legal compliance and partnerships with other stakeholders in implementing SFM andits legal verification and certification, as well as in supporting community forest enterprises and SMEs.
For consumers and buyers, the Programme contributes to expanded supply of tropical timber and timber
products and assurance that they have been legally and sustainably produced.

5.

OTHER PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERSThe Thematic Programme is implemented in close cooperation with with ITTO’s Civil Society Advisory Group(CSAG) and Trade Advisory Group (TAG). The Programme will engage a number of partners in theimplementation and it will provide a direct contribution to the effectiveness of various other international, regionaland bilateral programmes targeted at improving forest governance and promoting trade from legal andsustainable sources. These include, inter alia, the WB regional FLEG processes, the EU FLEGT Action Plan and7
related support programmes , the ITTO-CITES Work Programme, the World Customs Organization (WCO), theAsian Forest Partnership, ASEAN, the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), theAmazon Treaty Organization (OTCA), and other relevant regional, sub-regional and bilateral initiatives andprogrammes. The Programme partners will also include trade and industry associations, as well as relevant nongovernmental organizations working to improve forest governance, law enforcement and SFM.
7EU FLEGT Facility, EU FLEGT Asia, and EU FLEGT ACP

14

6.

ACTIVITIESIn this section an indicative non-exhaustive list of activities which can be supported by the Programme isprovided. As country situations vary, necessary support interventions can differ and therefore other activities
which are consistent with the Programme objectives may be considered in decision-making on the approval ofsubmissions.
Proposals for projects/pre-projects/activities can include several elements from different action areas of theProgramme if deemed appropriate.
A. Strengthening forest law compliance and governance1) Improve policy and legal frameworks and strengthen institutions targeted at improved law compliance andpoverty reduction through one or more of the following actions:a) Carry out diagnostic studies;b) Establish multi-stakeholder forums and structured participatory processes for policy dialogue, planningand monitoring of policy implementation, including national action plans for combating illegal logging andillegal trade;c) Design revision of forest legislation including on forest and land tenure to improve access by forest
communities and other local people to forest resources;d) Design revision of fiscal regimes;e) Implement measures to build capacity among enforcement organizations through training; and/orf) Undertake other relevant activities to strengthen policy and institutional frameworks and support tocapacity building for monitoring, verification and certification
2) Improve data and knowledge through the following actions:a) Promote awareness on the benefits of improved information systems among decision-makers;b) Improve forest information systems to enhance collection and reporting of national and sub-nationaltimber harvesting and wood product production data to address gaps in existing data and increase
timeliness and availability; improve information on drivers and impacts of illegal logging and illegal trade,including poverty, climate change mitigation, and other environmental impacts;c) Improve production and trade statistics and market information to facilitate estimation and monitoring ofillegal harvesting and associated production and trade in tropical timber and timber products;d) National surveys and studies on timber flows to identify the extent of illegal logging and associatedtrade; and/ore) Develop knowledge management activities such as web-based databases, dissemination of lessons
learned, and other means of sharing knowledge including improvement of the availability of the relevant
information to forest-dependent communities and SMEs;
3) Enhance capacity of the civil society, the private sector organizations and other actors to contribute to forest
law compliance through the following actions:a) Support capacity building and other efforts by the civil society and the private sector to detect andmonitor illegal logging activities and other illicit activities in areas known to be critically affected by suchactivities;b) Develop and implement methods and approaches to monitor changes in the forest and timber flows andother related capacity building; and/orc) Support private sector organizations to develop and implement of codes of conduct for legal complianceand SFM
4) Strengthen educational institutions and other relevant bodies to:a) Develop and implement specific training courses and programmes on forest law compliance andgovernance, including training of trainers and training of forest-dependent communities and SMEs;b) Elaborate and disseminate relevant training materials; and/orc) Promote exchange of knowledge and experience among relevant educational bodies at sub-regionaland regional level; and ord) Assess capacity needs and identify measures to address them15

B. Support to production and marketing of legally produced tropical timber and effective supply chain
management
5) Support development of cost-effective timber tracking systems and methods to demonstrate the legality oftimber and timber products, including systems suitable for forest-dependent communities and SMEs by:a) Piloting and promotion of innovative methods to track and trace timber to improve transparency andauditability of the supply chains of tropical timber and timber products;b) Development of methods for data reconciliation and improvement within the supply chain, especially in
harvesting and processing operations;c) Technical support to develop auditing systems of legal compliance and origin tailored to national
circumstances;d) Development of tools for risk assessment;e) Assessment and promotion of the business case for improved chain of custody systems within tropicaltimber producing countries;f) Development of a compendium of methods for supply chain management including timber tracking
technologies useful for monitoring illegal logging, production and trade; and/org) Other dissemination activities
6) Support efforts to increase awareness of illegal logging in domestic markets in tropical timber producing
countries and to promote export and domestic demand for legally produced tropical timber and timber
products by:a) Organizing awareness-raising workshops with broad stakeholder participation;b) Developing procurement policies and other tools for market promotion through a structured participatory
and transparent process;c) Assisting in communication and training activities; and/ord) Establish a functioning web-based information system for market promotion of legally and sustainably
produced timber to make available information on potential suppliers for buyers and consumers tofacilitate procurement of legally/sustainably produced timber, and promote the use of the website
through the ITTO Market Information Service and other means.

C. Strengthening capacity of community and other small and medium-sized enterprises7) Support capacity building of poor forest-dependent communities and small and medium-sized enterprises to
produce and trade timber from legal and sustainable sources through a variety of activities, such as:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

Forest and land tenure and conflict resolution
Forest management planning;
Reduced impact logging and other measures of SFM;
Timber tracking, chain of custody and auditable procurement practices;
Market surveys and information on market requirements on legally harvested and sustainably produced
tropical timber and timber products;f) Strengthening of management and information systems;g) Production planning and quality control;h) Training and organizational development;i) Financial planning and cost-benefit analyses;j) Independent auditing, verification and certification;k) Communication and other marketing development; and/orl) Development of production and other networks, associations and other cooperative arrangements

Upon request, ITTO may provide technical assistance to interested poor forest-dependent communities and
SMEs to formulate proposals for the sustainable management of their forests and legal compliance in timber
production and trade.

16

D. Improve international cooperation in forest law enforcement and governance
8)

Strengthen regional and international cooperation in forest law enforcement and governance in cooperation
with relevant international, regional and sub-regional organizations and intergovernmental bodies through:a) Improvement of international/regional compilation and exchange of production and trade data (e.g.
comparative analyses of international trade data in order to identify discrepancies, inconsistencies andinaccuracies, improvement of knowledge on conversion factors and their possible harmonization, etc.);b) Development of, and exchange of experience on, methods and tools for assessing illegal harvesting andassociated production, and illegal trade;c) Strengthening of mechanisms for monitoring of trade (including cross-border trade);d) Establishment and functioning of regional and sub-regional platforms for trade facilitation andmonitoring; and/ore) Knowledge sharing

9) Promote policy dialogue and exchange of experience and information on international market developments
related to the demand for legal and sustainable tropical timber and timber products and meeting market
requirements through:a) Monitoring and analysis of the existing and emerging international and regional market conditions andrequirements related to legality;b) Identification of options for convergence and comparability in definitions, market requirements,
monitoring and verification tools and means of communication; and promotion of international common
approaches for definition of legality, legality assurance systems, supply chain controls, independent
monitoring and verification procedures, and requirements for independent auditing bodies;c) International stakeholder meetings to review practices and evolving initiatives, exchange experience andmake action recommendations;d) Support to the civil society, the private sector organizations, organizations of forest-dependentcommunities and other stakeholder groups in the international and regional consultation processes;
and/ore) Analysis of policies and options for meeting the international market requirements for tropical timber andtimber products in order to assist producing countries participating in bilateral agreements and otherarrangements related tropical timber trade

7.

WORK PLAN, BUDGET ESTIMATES AND DONOR CONTRIBUTIONSWork plan
The general indicative work plan is given in Table 2. Detailed annual work plans will be prepared to implement
the Programme. Two rounds of call for submissions by stakeholders through the ITTO focal points are arranged
per year. During the first year the following activities are planned.
a)
c)
b)
d)
e)

Promotion of the Programme launching through various ITTO organized and participated events tocreate awareness among stakeholders on the availability of programme support
Organization of the first two rounds of submissions by stakeholders
Financing and implementation of 2-3 projects in forest governance, one project in trade and supply chain
improvement, and 2-3 projects in capacity building of community/SMEs
Implementation of activities in promoting international/regional cooperation (part of activities 8 and 9),
establishment of supplier web-page (part of activity 6) and elaboration of a compendium of tracking
technologies (part of activity 5)
Provision of support to project formulation to stakeholders who have requested assistance (part ofactivity 7)

17

Table 2.

General Work Plan
Actions

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

1. Programme launching andpromotion
2. Call for proposals●

3. Advisory Committee meetings

●

●
●

●
●

●
●

●
●

●
●

●

4. Implementation of TP activities
5. Annual monitoring reports

●

●

●

6. Review and evaluation of the
TFLET pilot phase by the ITTC●

Budget estimates
The total budget of the activities to achieve a significant improvement in tropical forest governance and law
enforcement and expansion in trade of tropical timber from legal and sustainable sources in the three tropicalregions is US$15 million (Table 3).

Table 3.

TFLET Programme Budget (indicative)

Activity (US$ 1,000)
A. Strengthening of forest governance
B. Support to international trade inlegally/sustainably produced timber
C. Strengthening of capacity ofcommunity and other SMEs
D. Strengthening of international
cooperation
SUBTOTAL
Programme Management (9.5%)

Year 1
1,200.0
1,200.0

Year 21,700.0
1,000.0

Year 31,800.0
1,000.0

Total
4,700.0
3,200.0

Per cent
34.3
23.4

1,500.0

1,000.0

2,300.04,800.0

35.0

298.6

350.0

350.0

998.6

7.3

4,198.6398.8

4,050.0384.8

5,450.0
517.8

13,698.6
1,301.4

100.0

GRAND TOTAL

4,597.4

4,434.8

5,967.8

15,000.0

Donor contributions
Accounting for existing unutilized donor contributions to the Programme through the precursor of the TFLET
activities Thematic Programme allows the following representation of the current financing situation (as ofNovember 2008):
Pledged, allocatedPledged, unallocatedBalanceTOTAL

US$ 3,331,189
US$ 1,565,815
US$ 10,102,996
US$ 15,000,000

In addition to donor contributions, implementing agencies for activities or projects developed in the framework ofthis agreement are also expected to contribute financial and in-kind resources, taking into account their roles,
responsibilities and capacities, in principle with a share consistent with the level of such inputs in the existing
ITTO project portfolio. The counterpart contributions (in-kind) include provision of logistical support comprised ofservices of staff members, office spaces, transportation, etc., provided by the implementing agencies. On
average ITTO projects include counterpart contribution from implementing agencies of 10-20% of the ITTO
budget and this average level is also targeted in the Thematic Programme.
18

II.

OPERATIONAL ELEMENTS

Composition of the Thematic Programme Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee (AC) has the following composition:a)Three producer member representatives with recognized expertise on the Thematic Programme;b)
At least one non-donor consumer member representative with recognized expertise on the Thematic
Programme;c)Expert representatives of interested donors and collaborating institutions; andd)Executive Director or his designated representative.
In consultation with members, the Executive Director will invite individuals to participate on Thematic
Programme Advisory Committees.
As a general rule, the membership will not exceed seven members, taking into account the need for balanced
representation among members.
The task of the AC is to assist the Executive Director with the implementation of the Thematic Programme asfollows:a)b)c)

Selection of activities/pre-projects/projects for financing under the Thematic Programme;
Monitoring and evaluation of progress in implementing the Thematic Programme; andIdentification of potential additional sources of voluntary financial contributions to the Thematic
Programme)

As a general rule, the AC works and coordinates through electronic means and meets once a year.

Specific selection criteria for proposed activities/projects/pre-projects
In selecting activities/pre-projects/projects for financing, the Thematic Programme Advisory Committee willconsider the following general criteria:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)

Conformity with the Thematic Programme Document and ITTA objectives;
Technical feasibility;
Cost effectiveness;
Environmental and social effects;
Linkages or relevance to other activities/pre-projects/projects under the programme;
Applicability/extension of results, e.g. regionally or globally;
Clear quantitative and qualitative indicators to evaluate progress towards achieving programme
objectives;
Measures to verify the coherence and effectiveness of individual activities/pre-projects/projects funded
under the programme;
Overall impact and sustainability of outputs and outcomes; andMechanisms for effective stakeholder participation.

In addition, the AC will consider the following specific criteria:k)Potential impact to the achievement of the specific objectives of the Thematic Programmel)Contribution to the Programme deliverables

Administrative arrangements
The Programme is implemented under the direction of the Executive Director of ITTO. The Programme iscoordinated by a full-time coordinator assisted by secretarial support staff.
19

Monitoring and evaluation procedures
The projects/pre-projects/activities of the Programme are monitored according the procedures of the ITTO
Manual for Project Monitoring, Review, Reporting and Evaluation and using the Organization’s on-line monitoring
system as appropriate.
The Advisory Committee monitors the progress of Programme implementation at least once a year based on theinformation generated by the monitoring system, including periodic progress reports. A programmatic monitoring
protocol will be developed for the Programme as a whole.
In accordance with the Decision 9/(XLIV) of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC), the Executive
Director will report at each Council session on the development, status and other relevant information on thepilot operation of the Thematic Programme, and to keep Members informed inter-sessionally through the ITTO
web site.
The effectiveness of the pilot operation of the Thematic Programmes will be reviewed and evaluated after three
years by the ITTC.

Technical and financial reporting procedures
The Programme has standardized reporting formats on individual activities/pre-projects/projects and theThematic Programme as a whole. The reporting elements include work-plan, budget, regular progress, technicaland completion reports, inclusive of narrative reports and financial reports, formats for consolidated narrative andfinancial reports, monitoring and evaluation reports. The provisions of the ITTO Manual for Project Monitoring,
Review, Reporting and Evaluation will apply, as appropriate. Donor contributions are not earmarked to specificpre-projects/activities and a common reporting framework will be applied for participating donors rather than
individual reports for each donor.

20

Annex 1.
Impacts

Indicative Problem Tree Analysis of the TFLET Thematic Programme
Lack ofsecurity inforest areas

Marginalization of forest
communities

Socialconflicts

Unfairdistribution of
benefitsRuralpoverty

Limited accessto forests by
the poor

Lack of levelplaying fieldin markets

Illegal logging
and other
forest crimes

Lack ofcompetitiveness of SFM

Political
disenfrancisement

Degradationof forest
resources

Directs effects

Silent acceptability of illegal
forestoperation

Poverty

Sub-causes

Limited SME/
community
based
enterprisedevelopment

Limited tradeand further
processing

Loss ofincome andemployment

Loss offiscalrevenue

Negative
image oftropical forest
sectorRestrictions
in market
accessWeak forest governance and enforcement capacity and lack of
trade from legal and sustainable sources

Key problem

Direct causes

Increasedcarbonemissions andloss ofbiodiversity

Corruption

Distorted
economic
incentives

Lack of publicpressure to tackle
illegal logging/ lackof transparency
and accountability
in policy
implementation

Policyfailuresandinadequate
legislation

Excessive
harvestingand industrial
capacityHightransaction
cost of legal
compliance

Limited or nomarketincentives forlegality and
SFM

Weak
institutional
capacity

Markets forillegalproducts

21

Transboundarytrafficking

Weakinternational/
regional
cooperation

Weak participationof SMEs andcommunity forests
in SFM and trade

Weak supervision andcontrolof tradeLack of advanced
technologies formonitoring andcontrolLack ofstakeholder
capacity andimplement
SFM/ supply
chain control

Inadequate
information
on forests,
markets andtechnology

ANNEX 2
THEMATIC PROGRAMME APPRAISAL PROCESS

Submission of proposals
by proponent

Clearance by the ITTO
country focal point

Screening/pre-appraisal by
the Secretariat

Distribution of pre-appraisal forms andproposal documents to TPAC members

Review by TPAC members- comments

Integration of comments and pre-selection by the
Secretariat- distribution to TPAC members

Recommendation by TPAC members

ED decision22