Joint Assembly of the Convention concluded between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union (ACP-EU) - Resolutions adopted on Protocol 10 on sustainable management of forest resources of the Fourth ACP-EU Convention of Lomé as revised by the agreement signed in Mauritius on 4 November 1995 (ACP- EU/2063/97/fin.)

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Brussels from 17 to 20 March 1997,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on sustainable management of forest resources, in particular the ACP-EU resolution which was adopted in September 1996 (Luxembourg: ACP-EU 1825/96/fin.) and the parliamentary report on operations to promote tropical forests, which was adopted on 15 June 1995 (A4-0137/95),

A. in view of the Special Session of the UN General Assembly (June 1997) on Agenda 21,

B. whereas the Protocol on Sustainable Management of Forest Resources of the Lomé Convention states that the European Community and the ACP States will concentrate their efforts on actions promoting sustainable management of forests allotted for the production of timber and that special priority will be given to community based and small scale forest operations,

C. recognizing that logging activities in West and Central Africa are increasing rapidly and are beyond the monitoring capacity of many ACP country forestry departments,

D. recognizing the fact that community based forest projects which are carried by the local communities still hardly exist,

E. realizing that Asian and European companies which exploit and purchase timber from a large number of logging companies, are recently expanding into countries in West and Central Africa,

F. acknowledging that a number of these new incoming companies have a poor track record in sustainable forest management, especially in respecting local people's rights, both in their countries of origin as well as in other ACP countries,

G. realizing that commendable efforts to implement truly sustainable forest management, including the participation of local people, are currently made in the region,

H. acknowledging that the Forest Stewardship Council has developed universal criteria for environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests,

1. Calls on the signatories to the Lomé Convention and the European Commission to design definite plans for the implementation of paragraphs 3 and 4 of Protocol 10 of the Lomé Convention;

2. Calls on the European Commission to thoroughly study again the possibilities of financial instruments in implementing a strong forestry strategy;

3. Calls on the Member States of the European Union, the European Commission and the signatories to the Lomé Convention to step up their monitoring and control of European and Asian companies;

4. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to allocate more resources to community based, small scale forests operations and to sustainable development initiatives of African NGOs in the region;

5. Calls on the European Commission and the Member States to financially support institution building in the forestry departments in the ACP countries with emphasis on capacity building to enable these departments to monitor the activities of forestry companies;

6. Calls on the Member States of the European Union, the Commission and the signatories of the Lomé Convention to take measures to stimulate producers, manufacturers and consumers of timber to adhere to the principles developed by the Forest Stewardship Council, thereby creating an incentive for genuine sustainable forest management;

7. Calls on the ACP states to thoroughly scrutinise logging companies applying for concessions or other forest-related activities in their countries;

8. Urges the Member States of the European Union and the ACP countries to do everything possible at the UN General Assembly Special Session in June 1997 to ensure that the political Declaration resulting from the UNGASS meeting will demand binding and concrete plans for the implementation of Protocol 10 of the Lomé Convention;

9. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council and to the Commission.