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.

UNEP-WCMC informs on illegality risks from five timber source countries

The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has released the first five in a series of country overviews that aim to aid the implementation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). These overviews, which are available for Brazil, China, Myanmar, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, are produced for the European Commission.

European Commission reports on EUTR progress

The European Commission has released the second report on the implementation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), covering the period March 2015 to February 2017. The report reveals steady progress after four years of EUTR application. It is based on the reports from the 28 EU Member States and Norway.

South Korea closes market to illegally-harvested timber

South Korea has become the latest country to implement legislation to prevent imports of illegally-harvested timber.

FLEGT IMM Spring 2018 newsletter now online

The FLEGT Independent Market Monitoring (IMM) project has published its second quarterly newsletter.

Ghana, EU Progress on Implementation of their Voluntary Partnership Agreement

The aide memoire of the ninth session of the Joint Monitoring and Review Mechanism (JMRM), which took place on 27 and 28 February 2018, in Accra, Ghana, has been released.

EU and China agree on their 2018 cooperation under the BCM

China and the European Union (EU) are strengthening their efforts to address illegal logging and promote legal timber trade through their Bilateral Coordination Mechanism (BCM) on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance. The 9th meeting of the BCM took place in Beijing, China, on 7 March 2018.

Greater participation of women for improved forest management in Liberia

An article published in Front Page Africa describes the progress made by Liberia towards good forest governance since the end of the 14-year civil war, highlighting the ‘gradual rise’ of women’s participation in the forest sector. The writer outlines the benefits of greater participation of women in decision-making processes related to forests.

IMM gathers feedback on FLEGT licensing

On 8 March 2018, the Independent Market Monitoring (IMM) organised the first Trade Consultation in London, United Kingdom (UK). The Consultation aimed to inform participants about the latest Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) developments, and to provide an opportunity for them to voice opinions about FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) processes.