FAO-supported initiative combats illegal logging and boosts sustainable livelihoods

Figure: The new agreement ensures that only legal timber from Indonesia is allowed access to the EU market. A worker checking for identity tags on logged trees in Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.

FAO 15 September 2016, Rome - FAO today welcomed an agreement by Indonesia and the European Union (EU) to issue the world's first Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) timber license as a major achievement in the fight against illegal logging. 

As of 15 November, the FLEGT license can accompany shipments of timber exported from Indonesia to EU member states to certify that the timber has been harvested, transported, processed and traded according to Indonesian law.

"Indonesia has taken important steps to strengthen forest governance, combat illegal logging, modernize its forest sector, and improve business practices," said Robert Simpson of FAO's FLEGT Programme, which supports tropical timber-producing countries engaged in FLEGT initiatives.

"In addition to helping to limit the environmental damage caused by illegal logging, demonstrating timber legality opens the door to promoting the sustainable livelihoods of forest communities and increasing access to international wood markets," he said. 

Indonesia supplies one third of tropical timber imports by value to the EU, one of the world's largest consumers of timber products. Since 2013, the EU Timber Regulation has prohibited European companies from placing illegal timber and timber products on the EU market.

FLEGT licensed timber automatically complies with the requirements of the timber regulation, creating a "green lane" for Indonesian timber entering the EU.

Worldwide, forest crime is estimated by UNEP and Interpol to be worth $30-100 billion annually, or 10-30 percent of the total global timber trade.

"Illegal logging and associated trade undermine countries' efforts to manage forests sustainably, lead to forest degradation and contribute to climate change and biodiversity loss," said Simpson. "They also rob developing nations of revenue and can fuel cycles of corruption, poverty and conflict."

See more: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/433452/icode/