Brussels, 30/09/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 30 September, the European Union and Indonesia signed a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) in Brussels to guarantee that only timber legally harvested in Indonesia and products derived from this timber can be legally exported to the EU market in the future. This agreement, known as FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade), translates a common resolve to fight against deforestation. The two parties jointly commit to contributing to this, in the interest of sustainable exploitation of forest resources for the benefit of the local communities that depend on it. The challenge is considerable as the EU is the biggest export market for products derived from Indonesian timber -Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy being the main destinations.
“This agreement is good for the environment and good for responsible business, and it will boost consumer confidence in Indonesian timber”, said European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik.
Indonesia already has a system to verify and provide assurance that its timber production is legal (the SVLK system), and this forms the basis for the PVA with the EU. Indonesia is the first Asian country to conclude such an agreement - an agreement which marks the successful conclusion of six years of negotiations, but which still has to be ratified by the two parties in order to enter into force.
PVAs have already been concluded between the EU and some African countries (Ghana, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Liberia and the Central African Republic). Negotiations are ongoing with Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Côte d'Ivoire, Guyana, Honduras, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.
A new European regulation forbidding the entry of illegally harvested timber onto the EU market in violation of the legislation of the country of origin has been in force since 3 March 2013. It is applicable both to the timber itself and to products derived from it, such as paper and wood pulp, which are produced or imported into the EU. The procedures that the regulation lays down are to be respected by all operators in the sector. The objective of this legislation is to stem the illegal exploitation of forests in the world which has serious economic, environmental and social effects as it contributes to deforestation and climate change (forests are carbon sinks), undermines the efforts of legal operators in the sector, and can cause clashes for the exploitation of land and resources. (AN/transl.fl)