EU and Indonesia mark 2nd anniversary of FLEGT licensing

This month, Indonesia and the EU marked the second anniversary of a major milestone in their partnership against illegal logging — the launch of the world’s first ‘FLEGT’ licensing scheme, guaranteeing the legality of timber products exported to the EU.

Genuine forest reform can only happen under the gaze of independent eyes

Looking back into a past of chaos, corruption and crime, Indonesia has clearly come a long way in reforming its timber sector. During the 1990s and early 2000s, illegal logging was so widespread that more than 70-80 per cent of timber produced in Indonesia was sourced illegally.

Vietnam can play crucial role in protecting world’s rainforests, says Global Witness

Global Witness says Vietnam’s recently-signed Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union can and must prevent the country from ‘becoming a new global timber laundering hub.’ Instead, the Agreement can ensure that Vietnam plays ‘a crucial role’ in protecting the world’s threatened rainforests.

Comparing South Korea’s timber legislation and the EUTR

In March 2017, South Korea revised the Act on the Sustainable Use of Timbers, a milestone in its efforts to promote legal timber trade. The EU FLEGT Facility has published a brief that describes similarities and differences between the revised Act and the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR).

Vietnamese NGOs welcome VPA signing

The network of Vietnamese Non-governmental Organisations on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VNGO-FLEGT) has welcomed the official signing by Vietnam and the European Union (EU) of their Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA).

Global Timber Forum analyses gender in the wood processing sector of Ghana

A study commissioned by the Global Timber Forum reveals that women workers in Ghana’s wood processing sector are much less visible than their male counterparts yet are involved in multiple areas of the value chain. This involvement ranges from the administration, labour and through to acting as financiers of business.

Paradise lost: how China can help the Solomon Islands protect its forests

Our new investigation conclusively shows that tropical timber across the Solomon Islands is being harvested on an unsustainable scale, and that much of the activity driving this environmental destruction is at high risk of being illegal. If the growing degradation of the Solomon Islands’ tropical forests carries on unchecked, it will have a disastrous and irreparable impact on the country’s environment. The loss of this carbon sink would also have a significant impact on climate change.

EU and Vietnam sign VPA to combat illegal logging and promote legal timber trade

The EU and Vietnam signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The agreement will help improve forest governance, address illegal logging and promote trade in verified legal timber products from Vietnam to the EU, and other markets.

Republic of the Congo and the EU release 2017 annual report on VPA progress

The Republic of the Congo and the EU have released a joint report on progress in implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreement in 2017.

Combating illegal timber trade: Promoting sustainable development and good governance

How can trade policies promote and support governance reforms in developing countries so that forest resources contribute to sustainable development? A panel discussion on the FLEGT initiative hoped to provide an answer to this question. The session, moderated by Jussi Viitanen, Head of the EU FLEGT and REDD Facilities at the European Forest Institute, took place at the recent WTO Public Forum in Geneva.