World Wood-Based Panels Conference addresses timber legality

The legality of timber and timber products was a recurrent theme at the Fourth World Wood-Based Panels Conference that took place from 22-23 September 2017, in Linyi, China. The China National Forest Products Industry Association (CNFPIA) formally released China’s timber legality verification standard at the opening of the Conference. This voluntary standard sets out the requirements for timber legality for CNFPIA member companies.

Members of the European Parliament praise the VPA process in Honduras

When Members of the European Parliament visited Honduras in September 2017, they were impressed with the unity of purpose with which diverse stakeholders are working together to address illegal logging, through the Voluntary Partnership Agreement or VPA Honduras is negotiating with the EU.

Briefing compares Japan’s Clean Wood Act with the EU Timber Regulation

The EU FLEGT Facility has published a briefing that compares two regulatory approaches that aim to prevent trade in illegally-harvested timber and timber products: Japan’s Clean Wood Act and the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).

New briefing introduces the Chinese Timber Legality Verification System

The EU FLEGT Facility has published a briefing on the Chinese Timber Legality Verification System (CTLVS) and associated policies that China is developing to combat illegal logging and trade in illegal timber.

Lessons and inspiration from Indonesia’s FLEGT experience

Indonesia was not the only one to celebrate its FLEGT licensing launch last year. Other tropical timber exporters engaged in the FLEGT VPA process en route to licensing welcomed the news too. They see Indonesia’s success not just as inspirational, but providing lessons from which they can learn. Mike Jeffree reports

Ghana visits Indonesia to learn FLEGT licensing lessons

With Ghana moving towards full implementation of its Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU on illegal logging, representatives of its forest sector stakeholders have visited Indonesia to learn about its experiences of reaching that goal.

Ghana champions rights and fair compensation for forest communities

Ghana’s work to promote the legal timber trade, in partnership with the European Union (EU), strongly emphasizes involving local communities who live in or near forests.

EUTR News – June to August 2017

This issue of the EUTR News provides an update on the operation of the EU’s law to address illegal logging, the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), from June to August 2017.

Analysis of gender impacts of the Ghana VPA with European Union

Fern commissioned this study of gender issues in Ghana’s FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement as a tentative first step to looking at gender issues which have to date received only scant attention.

Forest governance: how Indonesia and Vietnam are responding to illegal logging

Illegal logging and the associated trade is a major cause of deforestation and forest degradation globally. Indonesian and Vietnamese experts from the government, private and civil society sectors speak to Gitika Bhardwaj about the state of the trade in both southeast Asian countries.