EU and Congo assess progress towards timber legality verification and other VPA goals

The Republic of the Congo and the European Union held the sixth meeting of their Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) in Brazzaville on 17 and 22 May 2017.

FLEGT roadmap launched in the Philippines

Forest stakeholders in the Philippines have agreed on a ‘FLEGT roadmap’ to improve forest law enforcement, governance and trade through 2020. The plans were finalised at the first meeting of the Technical Working Group on Wood, whose members are from the government, civil society and the private sector.

Cameroon punishes illegal loggers and administration staff exposed by independent forest monitors

Cameroon’s Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) has raided companies, issued fines, suspended logging authorisations and opened court cases in response to recent reports by independent forest monitors there.

EU and Vietnam conclude VPA negotiations

On 11 May 2017, the EU and Vietnam formally concluded their negotiations towards a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), by initialling the document.

EU and Liberia aim to intensify VPA implementation

Representatives of the EU and Liberia have identified ways to boost implementation of their Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), which aims to address illegal logging, improve forest governance and promote trade in legal timber products.

Laos and EU hold first face-to-face VPA negotiations

The European Union and Laos held their first negotiations towards a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to improve forest governance, address illegal logging and promote trade in legal timber products, when they met on 24-28 April in Vientiane.

Natural Resource Reform At Home – Not Walls – Will Stem The Tide Of Migrants

The answer to stemming the flow of migrants from troubled countries is not concrete walls and stricter laws – as British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump would have us believe. There’s no silver bullet to this complex challenge, but a more promising solution is to help improve the economy and rule of law in the migrants’ home nations.

Briefing: Developments relevant to the implementation and enforcement of the EU Timber Regulation, December 2016 to March 2017

Briefing note compiled by UNEP-WCMC as a consultant of the European Commission in close cooperation with the Member States Competent Authorities.

Civil society sharing lessons on participation and forest governance

When civil society organisations in Indonesia began proposing ways to end illegal logging, they knew they had a mountain to climb. In 2002, some 80 percent of logging there was illegally. Corruption and conflict were widespread. Trust was lacking.

Briefing: Timber trade flows and investments between China and VPA countries

The EU FLEGT Facility has published a briefing based on research into flows of timber and investments between the China and the six countries that have signed Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with the EU.