Overview of Timber Legality
Developments in Asia
Session 1
6th Sub-Regional Training Workshop on Timber Legality Assurance
Chiang Mai, Thailand
3-5 July 2018Alexander Hinrichs
Background
►In early 2000 specific initiatives started to respond to the illegal loggingproblem► IL seen as main driver of deforestation & degradation,
negatively impacting poverty, biodiversity, revenue capture► ... as result of governance failure ► ... that is best addressed by involving main stakeholders► ... as a global responsibility and that requires actions in
producer and consumer countries► ... which are linked by trade
► Government (regulatory) and private sector(voluntary) trade initiatives
Most comprehensive and oldest approach is the EU FLEGT Action Plan
• 7 action areas on supply and demand side
• Support to timber producing countries, trade & demand side, public procurement, private sector, financing, int. legislative instruments, conflict timber
• Evaluation of FLEGT Action Plan in 2015
• Highly relevant in 2003 – innovative and future proof design
• Implementation challenging – EU active in 46 countries/15 VPA
• New challenges: deforestation (conversion by agriculture), climate change, change in trade patterns, coherence of initiatives (REDD+, NDC, private sector commitments, SDG)
VPA countriesRegions
• Cameroon*
• CAR
• Congo*
• Côte d’Ivoire
• DRC
• Gabon
• Ghana*
• Guyana
• Africa
• Asia
• Central and
South America
• Honduras*
• Indonesia*
• Laos
• Liberia*
• Malaysia
• Thailand
• Vietnam*
Work in other countries
VPAs in 3 regions and 15 countries
• China
• Myanmar
• Cambodia
• Philippines
80% of EU imports
of tropical wood
Trade pattern changes
Timber Legality
Developments
in Asia
Legality developments on country level
• IDN: National TLAS (SVLK) operating and enshrined in law• FLEGT licensing since 15 Nov 2016• Monitoring (CSO, PE) and continuous improvement
• VN: National TLAS fully designed• Signing of VPA in 2018 – implementation started,
important role of imports
Legality developments at country level
• TH, LAO: National TLAS under development• Multi-stakeholder processes• Field assessments• Second round of formal negotiations in 2018
Legality developments on country level
• MY
• Most prolonged VPA negotiations
• TLAS in PM & Sabah, (SWK)
• Strong national certification
• MMR
• Increasing awareness of FLEGT, challenges on national level
• CAM and PH
• Awareness of FLEG(T), engaging in regional dialogues
Legality developments in ASEAN
• Non-binding standard frameworks (C&I, CoC), 10 year FLEG work plan
• Strategic Plan of Action 2016-2025 for ASEAN Co-operation in Forestry, includes thrusts covering illegal logging actions, ASEAN common positions and cross-learning
• ASEAN FLEG Work Plan 2016-2025 includes Action Prog.
• strengthening FLEG implementation
• facilitating trade of legal and sustainable timber
• joint ASEAN approaches (mutual recog. legal timber)
• institutional strengthening / capacity building
Legality developments in Asian markets
Australia Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012. Illegal Logging Prohibition Amendment Regulation 2013. Entered into force November 2014. Soft-start compliance period to allow operators to adjust their systems until December 2018. Penalties apply from 1 January 2018.
Japan Clean Wood Act adopted in May 2016. Implementation through Ministerial Ordinances in May 2017. The system is based on a voluntary registration of operators who commit to ensure that they only buy legal timber. 61 business have registered by 20 March.
South Korea 2012 Forest Legislation includes article on countermeasures against illegal timber. Revised Act passed in March 2017. Implementation starts 1 October 2018 – requirement for the importer to declare legality of wooden products. Penalties apply from October 2019.
China China is establishing a timber legality framework comprising voluntary guidelines, CTLVS, bi-lateral MoUs, policy dialogues (including a Bilateral Coordination Mechanism on FLEG with EU), and private sector commitments. There is no legislation yet that makes it an offence to import illegal timber or timber products.
Private Sector Initiatives
• Business working to eliminate illegal forest products from their supply chains since 1990s
• Promotion of sustainability: voluntary forest certification (FSC, PEFC) – country standard processes
• Promotion of legality: verification of legal timber
• Green purchasing policies and sourcing programmes (Code of Conduct) by timber associations/companies
• Link to regulatory approaches increasingly explored
• Private sector and markets more interested in sustainability than legality
Take home
• Initiatives addressing illegal logging and trade by governments and private sector well established
• Implementation takes time
• Trade, governance, legal reform and enforcement
• Important to share experience – between initiatives, between stakeholders, between countries and regions
• Discussion has advanced - need to broaden the focus from legal timber to current global themes stemmingfrom climate change (UNFCCC) and SDG agendas
EUROPEAN FOREST INSTITUTE
EU FLEGT Facility - Asia Regional Office
www.euflegt.efi.int
c/o Embassy of Finland5th Floor, Wisma Chinese Chamber
258, Jalan Ampang50450 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTelephone: +603-42511886Facsimile: +603-42511245