The EU policy on Forest Law
Enforcement Governance andTrade (FLEGT) in the Asia-Pacific

Kyoto, 29 February 2016

Overview• Why combat trade in illegally loggedtimber and timber products?
• The EU FLEGT Action Plan
• The EU Timber Regulation• Voluntary Partnership Agreements• FLEGT in Asia
• Next steps

Why combat trade inillegally logged timber?

Pressure from ourconstituents

What is needed for real change?
• Will measures on one side alone be enough to combat
illegal logging?
-Consumer boycotts of tropical hardwood products
Industry codes of conductVoluntary certification schemes
Public procurement policies
Timber regulations…

• Could something be missing…
- … a combination of demand & supply
side measures?

The EU Forest Law
Enforcement, Governanceand Trade (FLEGT) Action
Plan (2003 – 2015)

Towards a European approach tocombat illegal logging
Increasing concern for
the fate of tropicalforests in the 1980s

1980s

Public sector initiatives (e.g. publicprocurement policies) in the early
2000s

1990s

Private sector initiatives inthe 1990s (e.g. FSC - 1993,PEFC - 1999)

2000s

EU FLEGT
Action PlanIn 2003

FLEGT Action Plan – 7 areas
1. FLEGT integrated in development cooperation
2. Bilateral trade agreements (VPAs)
3. New legislation (EUTR) – legal minimum
requirement
4. Public procurement policies – more than legal
5. Private sector initiatives – more than legal
6. Financing and investment safeguards
7. (Address conflict timber)

FLEGT – Key demand & supply sidemeasures
EU Timber Regulation(EU TR)

Voluntary Partnership
Agreement (VPA)• Prohibits sale of illegal
timber in the EU• Ensures export of only
legal timber to EU fromparticipating countries

 Demand sidemeasure Supply side measureNo more illegal timber on
the EU market, the EU
Timber Regulation ( EUTR)

The EU Timber Regulation (2013)
It prohibits the placing on the EU market of illegally harvested
timber and products derived from such timber
It requires EU traders who place timber products on the EU
market for the first time to exercise 'due diligence‘ (information,risk assessment and mitigation)

Other traders further down the supply chain must keep recordsof their suppliers and customers

What is due diligence?
1. INFORMATION

2. RISK ASSESSMENT3. RISK MITIGATION

Operator must haveaccess to information
describing the timber
and timber products,
country of harvest,species, quantity,details of the supplierand information oncompliance withnational legislation.

Operator must assess
the risk of illegal
timber in his supply
chain, based on theinformation in 1. andtaking into accountcriteria set out in theregulation.

When there is a risk ofillegal timber in the
supply chain, theoperator must
mitigate that risk byrequiring additional
information andverification from thesupplier.

Who is involved?
The European
Commission

MemberStatesMonitoring
Organisations

Civil Society

Industry(Operators & Traders)Implementing the EU TR
Competent Authorities
Each EU Member State appointed one or more Competent Authorities,
responsible for the correct application of the regulation. CAs ensure that theregulation is effectively implemented and enforced.

Monitoring Organisations
Legally EU based entities who offer systems that help EU operators complywith the due diligence requirements.

Voluntary Partnership
Agreements – trade
agreements legal timber
between EU and partnercountries

FLEGT Voluntary Partnership
Agreements (VPA)• Bilateral agreement between the European
Union and a timber-exporting country.
• To ensure that timber and timber products
exported to the EU come from legal sources.
• The timber-exporting country agrees to control
and license its timber exports as legal.
• The EU agrees to accept only licensed imports
from that country (FLEGT licensed timber).
• Legality is assured through an agreed VPA
Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS).

What is legal under EU TR and VPAs?
The legislation should cover environmental, social andeconomic principles
 Legal rights to harvest
 Payments taxes and fees related to harvesting Timber harvesting laws including environmental and forest legislation

 Third parties tenure and use rights (affected by harvesting) Trade and customs

Government defines VPA legality together
with stakeholders
Workers’
rightsCommunity
rightsMarketaccessSustainability

Environmental
protection

Stakeholders have different pointsof view on key challenges andoffer different experiences thatstrengthen the VPA

FLEGT in Asia

FLEGT engagements in the Asia-Pacific Region
Information
Preparation
Negotiations
Implementation“Other Consumer markets”
RFE and PNG
China (BCM)SAARC

SAARC RegionASEANFLEGT developments in ASEAN

Information

Laos
Cambodia

MyanmarPreparation
Vietnam

Negotiations

ThailandPhilippines

Implementation
Malaysia

Indonesia

China – Bilateral Coordination Mechanism

China (BCM)

China

Illegal logging ‘legislation’ in place or considered
CanadaVietnamJapan

South Korea
USA

TaiwanIndonesia

Australia

New ZealandOther markets

Major importers of tropicallogs

Major importers of tropical plywood

Major Trade Flows: Tropical Plywood,2013

China and India: Imports of tropicallogs by major Asia-Pacific supplierTrade contextSource: ITTO FLEGT
Independent
Market Monitor
Baseline Report

Next Steps

2016• New momentum due to FLEGT licenses• Follow up of Court of Auditors; FLEGT
Action Plan & EUTR Evaluations• Feasibility study on EU deforestation
action plan
• Cooperation with other consumer markets• More emphasis on China cooperation• Small forest enterprises

Challenges to small forest
enterprises in FLEGT processes
RegulatorycomplianceMarketingpower

Access toresources

Marketknowledge

Lobbying
influence
Access tofinanceEU FLEGT Facility
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Telephone+603-4251 1886EmailVincent.vandenberk@efi.int

Do you want more information?

And more information

European Commission website on EUTR
for EU operators

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eutr2013

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/cites/home_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/illegal_logging.htm

EU FLEGT Facility website on VPAs andFLEGT-licensed timber
http://www.euflegt.efi.int