Responsible Timber Trade Fair in Ghana, a unique international event

BVRio is organizing the first international timber trade fair dedicated to promoting the trade of 100% legal and certified timber. The Responsible Timber Trade Fair will connect buyers and sellers of legal and certified timber products, focusing on West African timber. The event will be held in Accra, Ghana, 28 February – 2 March 2018.

UNEP-WCMC briefing note on EUTR developments

The UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre has published the latest edition of its periodic briefing note on developments relevant to the implementation and enforcement of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).

ClientEarth publishes new issue of EUTR News

The latest edition of ClientEarth’s EUTR News is now available in English, French, Spanish and Chinese.

Save the date! ‘Sourcing Legal Timber 2.0’ conference — 15 March 2018

Nearly five years have passed since the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) came into force and things are looking quite different to how they did then. Authorities are increasing their enforcement activities all over Europe, a lot of new information and tools are available from all kinds of sources, and FLEGT-licensed timber is now available on the market.

FLEGT Independent Market Monitor publishes first quarterly newsletter

The FLEGT Independent Market Monitor (IMM) has published the first edition of its quarterly newsletter, featuring updates on the IMM project, market and policy news, and interviews with key FLEGT actors.

FLEGT is big, says Director General for the Environment

In this exclusive interview with the ETTF, European Commission Director General for the Environment Daniel Calleja Crespo describes the first year of FLEGT licensing by Indonesia as a great start. Now, he says, it’s the responsibility of all stakeholders to capitalise on the opportunities presented by this unique timber legality initiative and to take the wider EU FLEGT Action Plan forward.

FLEGT advances accountability in the Ivoirian forest sector

Six years have now passed since the end of civil conflict that destabilised Côte d’Ivoire for years. In this period, the country has made great strides towards improved governance and accountability. It held free and fair elections, adopted a new constitution making government structures more representative, and undertook institutional reforms. Rule of law, however, is still not completely institutionalised across the country.

Congo and the EU adopt tools to implement their Agreement on illegal logging

The Republic of Congo and the European Union (EU) have adopted a five-year plan for the implementation of their Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) aimed at eliminating illegal logging. This Agreement is part of the EU initiative on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

Indonesia and the EU release 2016 annual report on VPA progress

Indonesia and the EU have released a joint report on progress in implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreement from May 2015 to December 2016. The report describes progress made with the timber legality assurance system, institutional improvements, stakeholder engagement, communication, transparency and monitoring of the agreement.

EUTR News – September to November 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 September to November 2017. As with all of our previous editions, this issue will include information on what both the European Commission and EU Member States are doing to ensure the proper application of the EUTR, and provide updates on similar legislation internationally.