Brussels, 03/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The new European regulation aimed at preventing the marketing in the EU of illegal timber and of products derived from illegally harvested timber (EUROPE 10177) is now in force. The European Commission wished to underline this fact on Friday 3 December, the fight against deforestation - responsible for 20% of global emissions - being one of the challenges at stake during the ongoing climate talks in Cancun (COP-16, 29 November to 10 December), not only in the interest of the climate and environment but also of the native populations dependent on this natural resource for a living.
The European regulation (995/2010 of 20 October 2010) will not apply in member states until after 3 March 2011. “With this regulation the EU is making an important contribution to the fight against illegal logging, which not only plunders natural resources but also affects those who depend on forests for their livelihood. This is a concrete contribution by the EU towards the fight against loss of biodiversity globally. It will also give European consumers greater confidence about the products they buy”, comments Janez Potoènik, European Environment Commissioner. (A.N./transl.jl)