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.