Indonesia and Liberia sign deals with EU to cut illegal timber trade
On the 4th and 9th of May respectively, Indonesia and Liberia signed Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with the EU, pledging to halt illegal timber harvesting in their countries.
As part of the process leading up to the VPAs, Indonesia and Liberia have made significant efforts to strengthen the legitimacy of their forest sectors.
“This is a very significant development”, says Christian Sloth, Legality Services Manager at NEPCon.
“Indonesia is the world’s third-largest tropical forest national and a major timber exporter that supplies more than 9 billion USD worth of timber products per year to the world market. Liberia is a small country, but it is home to 50% of the remaining rainforest in West Africa, with exceptionally rich forest wildlife”.
FLEGT timber may soon reach the marketplace
Mr. Sloth notes that both Indonesia and Liberia have committed to tight deadlines after which no timber can be exported to the EU without a FLEGT license.
“According to the EU, the two countries intend to deliver FLEGT-licensed timber products within two to three years from now. The EU Timber Regulation acknowledges FLEGT licensing, so any exporter who can deliver FLEGT-licensed timber products will have an advantage on the EU marketplace. Conversely, FLEGT licensing of Indonesian export products will constitute a major relief to EU importers, who need to fulfill the new EU requirements for legality assurance”.
According to press releases by the EU Commission, Liberia will only export FLEGT-licensed timber products to the EU after 2014, while Indonesia aims to commence FLEGT licensing procedures at the beginning of 2013 , ahead of the entry into force of the EU Timber Regulation on 3 March 2013. The European Forest Institute estimates that illegal timber products account for around 20% of all timber-based goods entering the EU.
A landmark for Asia
Indonesia is the first Asian country to sign a VPA. With a forest area of 168 million hectares and an illegal timber market estimated at 1 billion USD, it is also by far the biggest timber exporting country among the six tropical countries which have entered VPAs with EU to date.
Illegal logging and deforestation is known to be a major problem in Indonesia. In the course of just 15 years (1990 -2005), Indonesia lost 28 million hectares of forest, an area sufficient to cover most of the Philippines. However, a report released in 2010 by Chatham House states that illegal logging in the country is declining.
The report found that it had fallen by 75% since a peak in 2000, but still represented around 40% of timber production. Smuggling of roundwood to China from Indonesia was found to have fallen by 92% since 2004.
The EU is a key market for Indonesian forest products with the total average annual value of timber and paper exports from Indonesia reaching US$ 1.2 billion. EU is Indonesia’s second largest trading partner and investor.
The main timber products destined for the EU are paper and paper board, wooden furniture and plywood. The most important consumers of Indonesian timber products within the EU are Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy.
Liberia – small country with global importance
Liberia’s VPA follows the examples set by four African countries - Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and Ghana.
Liberia is a very small African country harboring immense natural values in its 4.3 million hectares of forest. The Liberian rainforest constitutes over half of the remaining rainforest in West Africa. And as one of the world’s only 34 biodiversity hotspots, positioning itself in the top league of nature’s wonders.
The VPA agreement can be expected to help the country’s formerly thriving timber industry get back on its feet. Liberia’s forest sector is still in a state of recovery after it went through three years of UN sanctions between 2003 and 2006. More than half of the country’s timber exports went to the EU market prior to 2003.
Significance of the FLEGT Program
VPAs are entered under the EU scheme Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) which requires reforms and improvements of the entire forest governance in a country. Under the VPAs, EU commits itself to support these processes.
In a press release by FERN on Liberia’s VPA, campaign coordinator Saskia Ozinga praised the scope and ambitions of the FLEGT scheme: “The EU FLEGT Programme has more potential to address climate change than any other forest and climate programme to date because VPAs are more likely to improve forest governance, a key condition to keep forests standing”. FERN also noted how the FLEGT program is gaining momentum: “[…] The six agreements concluded to date now cover a forest area of 168 million hectares and will impact the lives of over 100 million forest people”.
It is estimated that between 20% and 40% of global industrial wood production, valued at an estimated $10 billion a year is derived from illegal sources, and up to 20% finds its way into the EU. The FLEGT program was set up in recognition of EU’s role and influence as a globally significant timber consuming market.
Photos showing logging and timber inspection in Liberia: © Jeff Haskins/ Burness Global.
