Cameroon and the EU release 2016 annual report on VPA progress

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

New regulations in Ghana important milestone for full VPA implementation

New regulations enacted by Ghana on 3 November 2017 address entrenched forest governance challenges and are an important milestone on the road to the full implementation of the country’s Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU).

Indonesia shipped verified legal timber worth more than 1 billion euros to EU in first year of FLEGT licensing

Indonesia has shipped verified legal timber and timber products worth more than 1 billion euros to the EU since it began issuing such products with FLEGT licences one year ago.

ClientEarth compares illegal logging laws of the EU, the US, Australia and Japan

ClientEarth has published a table of information on the laws in force in Australia, the European Union (EU), Japan and the United States (US) to restrict or prevent access of illegally-harvested timber to their markets.

Paper analyses VPA implementation in Indonesia and Ghana

A new paper in the journal Regulation & Governance analyses the implementation of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) in Indonesia and Ghana under the European Union (EU) Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan.

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