5. eu strategy for supporting fleg regional declarations
DESCRIPTION
Mathieu Bousquet European Commission , DEVCO F3TRANSCRIPT
EU strategy for supporting FLEG regional declarations
Mathieu BousquetEuropean Commission , DEVCO F3
FLEGT Action Plan : main objectivesFLEGT Action Plan : main objectives Fight against illegal logging
o Economic, Environmental, Social, Rule of law dimensions
Double focus : internal (within EU) and external (bilateral and multilateral). Ensuring coherent approach
Recognition that EU is part of the problem, as consuming market
Propose a blend of policy measures to tackle the issue : demand side and supply side
FLEGT Action Plan : main componentsFLEGT Action Plan : main components1. Support to timber producing countries
2. Trade in timber / Voluntary partnership agreements
3. Public procurement policies
4. Support to private sector initiatives and CSO initiatives
5. Finance and investment measures
6. Legislative measures : the EU Timber regulation
7. Conflict timber
Voluntary partnership agreementsVoluntary partnership agreementsLegally binding bilateral agreement on trade in forest products: only legally harvested timber and derived timber products exported to the EU
Participatory negotiation process
Based on partner country’s laws
Independent audit of the system; independent market monitoring (ITTO)
FLEGT licence issued for each shipment by partner country, subject to checks at EU Customs
Voluntary partnership agreementsVoluntary partnership agreements
• Implementing: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Indonesia, Liberia, Republic of the Congo• Negotiating: Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Gabon, Guyana, Honduras, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam• Preparing to negotiate: Cambodia, Myanmar/Burma• Informing: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands,
Sierra Leone
EU timber regulationEU timber regulation
In addition to bilateral approach (for external) or codes of conduct (for internal), demands for overarching legislation to prevent EU serving as a market for illegally harvested timber
EU legislative proposal put forward 2008, adopted 2010 as Regulation (EU) 995/2010. Applicable since 3 March 2013
EU timber regulation : obligationsEU timber regulation : obligations
EU operators shall exercise due diligence when placing timber or timber products on the market by implementing procedures so as to minimise the risk of illegal timber in their supply chain
Due diligence
The placing on the market of illegally harvested timber or timber products derived from such timber shall be prohibited
EU traders (after first placing on the EU market) shall be able to identify from whom they bought the timber products and where applicable, to whom they have supplied the timber products
Prohibition
Traceability
FLEGT Action Plan : demand-side FLEGT Action Plan : demand-side measuresmeasures
Public procurement policies in EU countries favouring legal and sustainable timber
Private certification schemes and codes of conducts to deal with legal timber
EU Transparency & accounting directives on forest investment, obliging companies to report on their deals with partner governments
Development cooperationDevelopment cooperation EU financial support to :
EFI Flegt Facility http://www.euflegt.efi.int/home/
FAO FLEGT programme http://www.fao.org/forestry/eu-flegt/en/
ENPI FLEG Programme http://www.enpi-fleg.org/
Flermoneca http://flermoneca.org/
Bilateral and regional programmes
Lessons learnt Lessons learnt Focus on legality
Involvement of private sector and using the power of the market
Linking demand and supply
Going beyond the forest sector
Multistakeholder processes & new coalitions of interest
Inclusiveness of processes (civil society, private sector, local level)
Keeping the discussion on governance reforms and on development assistance separate has helped setting a genuine policy dialogue on forest.