Illegal Logging Issues Tackled in World Conservation Congress

Illegal Logging Issues Tackled in World Conservation Congress

The timber trade and the growing demand for more transparent supply chains came under the spotlight at a workshop led by TRAFFIC and Reforestamos México at the IUCN  last week.

The workshop on International and national legal frameworks for logging and timber trade: In support of forest ecosystem resilience and legal prohibition of illegal timber in trade featured expert speakers on forestry and legality from America, Meso-America, Africa and Asia, and was moderated by Charles (Chip) Barber, Forest Division Chief of the U.S. State Department.

Chen Hin Keong, TRAFFIC’s Global Forest Trade Programme Leader, highlighted several international initiatives to develop tools for improving legality and transparency in the trade of forest products and also explained the three possible sources of change: supply-side changes, behavioural changes of producers and demand-side changes.

Some producer countries have revised their forest policies, including strengthening forestry legislation, increasing timber trade controls, implementing log export bans, using value-added in-country processing and engaging in capacity building and institutional strengthening. Behavioural changes of producers and industry have included more prominence to certification for legality and sustainability, codes of practice and independent auditing, while demand based approaches have targeted the implementation of public purchasing policies for legal and sustainably sourced timber products by governments.

Some governments have taken further action by legislating against the trade in illegally harvested timber, including the U.S. Lacey Act 2008 amendments, the EU bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) and the EU Timber Regulation.

Chen also shared the TRAFFIC/GFTN developed Legality Verification Tool, designed to help industry, governments and civil society understand the legality requirements and be familiar with the documentation and permits required at all levels of the timber supply chain.

Ernesto Herrera, Executive Director of Reforestamos México, shared his organisation’s efforts to ensure the legality of forestry and timber trade in Mexico, using the TRAFFIC/GFTN framework as a guide.

Posted by George Daniels on Friday September 21 2012, 4:44 AM EST. Ref: TRAFFIC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0