Brussels, 03/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 21 December, the European Commission committed, on the initiative of Development Commissioner Louis Michel, EUR 20m to support the EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which aims to combat illegal logging and related trade. The Commission will support international and non-governmental organisations and the private sector, through a range of innovative pilot activities, to promote governance reform in countries affected by illegal logging and to facilitate trade in legally harvested timber. The release of EUR 20m to support the FLEGT initiative forms part of a new commitment of more than EUR 60m for projects to support the conservation and sustainable management of forests in developing countries. The World Bank estimates that developing country governments are currently losing some US$10-15 billion annually due to illegal logging. The Commission's aid will support: i) Intergovernmental dialogue aimed at building commitment for reforms to combat illegal logging and its underlying causes; ii) Models of good practice for forest governance; iii) Independent monitoring/auditing of forest harvesting operations; iv) Strengthening local civil society in support of improved forest sector governance; v) Facilitating trade in legally-harvested timber, and encouraging corporate social responsibility in the EU timber importing industry.
Environment defence agency Greenpeace has given a lukewarm reception to the Commission's announcement because the EUR 20 million will fund voluntary measures and hence not resolve the problem. Greenpeace argues that binding legislation is needed to outlaw illegal logging. 'Although we welcome efforts to promote governance reform in countries affected by illegal logging, the Commission is wrong to place the burden of responsibility on producer countries and restrict its support to a voluntary approach. If the EU is serious in its aim to help shut down the international trade in illegal timber, it must assume its responsibility and adopt legislation to prosecute criminals and favour responsible companies,' said Sebastien Risso of Greenpeace European Unit in a press release. He added: 'The European Commission is overlooking the fact that some European companies are behind the illegal and unsustainable exploitation and trade in timber from tropical and boreal forests.' On 21 December, the same day as the Agriculture Council, Greenpeace presented the Dutch Presidency and Luxembourg Presidency with a statement signed by some 200 NGOs, calling on the EU to introduce legislation to criminalise the import of illegal timber and timber products. Seven Member States (Germany, Denmark, the UK, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain) have made a joint declaration asking the European Commission to present a study on "additional legislative options" to close the European market to illegal timber. The European Commission pledged to deliver such a study before mid-2004 but failed to do so, adds Greenpeace.