Brussels, 27/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Thursday 27 February, the European Parliament ratified the voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) signed in Brussels on 30 September of last year between the EU and Indonesia, to work together to tackle deforestation in the interests of the sustainable exploitation of the forests, to the benefit of the local communities who depend on them (see EUROPE 10932).
This agreement, known as FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) aims to guarantee that, in future, only wood legally harvested in Indonesia and products derived from this wood can be legally exported to the European market. Following their rapporteur, Yannick Jadot (Greens/EFA, France), the MEPs stress, in the resolution adopted, that much remains to be done to ensure the correct implementation of the VPA.
Amongst other things, checks must be stepped up on all sources of wood and all of the monitoring chains through the Indonesian timber legality insurance system (SVLK), given that most of the country's wood sources are not certified by the SVLK and that large volumes of uncertified wood still entering the supply chain, the Parliament notes. Readers may recall that the European Union is the largest export market for Indonesian wood-derived products, with Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy the principal destinations. (AN)