Brussels, 28/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Union and the Central African Republic signed, on Monday 28 November in Brussels, a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) ensuring that, from 2014 on, only legally harvested wood from the Central African Republic and products derived from that wood are legally exported to the European market. The agreement - known as FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) - corresponds to a joint determination to combat deforestation. Both parties undertake, together, to contribute to deforestation to promote sustainable exploitation of forestry resources to the advantage of the local communities that depend on the timber trade for their livelihood.
By 2014, all shipments of wood products to the European Union from the Central African Republic will be required to carry a licence certifying their legal origin, in line with Central African legislation. European consumers will thus have the guarantee that wood products imported from the Central African Republic are of legal origin. This includes furniture and wood chips used for bio-fuel. Not only will this improve the legal framework governing the timber sector, but it will also contribute directly to combating poverty thanks to the support provided to the timber sector, the country's biggest employer. Emmanuel Bizot, the Central African minister for water, forest, fisheries, hunting and the environment, underlined that the sustainable management of forests and their governance is one important aspect of tackling climate change.
Under the agreement, in which local stakeholders such as timber companies and NGOs are involved, the Central African Republic intends to set up a national system to ensure legal compliance in timber production, covering all wood products destined for the EU as well as those sold on the domestic market and to non-EU markets. At the same time, the EU will guarantee unrestricted access to its market for all timber products from the Central African Republic. In this landlocked country, which ranks 22nd among the world's poorest nations, 62% of the population lives below the poverty line (US$1.25 per day). With 31% of the country covered by tropical forests, forestry activity is the third most important source of GDP, second in terms of exports and government revenue collection. The Central African Republic is the fifth country in Africa to engage with the European Union in a FLEGT voluntary partnership agreement, after Ghana, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and Liberia. (AN/transl.jl)