VPA EU and Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, is the first Central African country to conclude a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union to halt illegal logging and trade.
As from 2011, EU importers may buy timber with a VPA license from Congo assuring the wood's legality. The license shows that compliance with the country's Legal Assurance System has been verified and that a timber supply chain control system is in place.
As Congo is only the second country in the world to sign a VPA with the EU, the actual efficiency of the VPAs in ensuring legality of timber remains to be seen. Much will depend on the quality of the legal assurance systems set up under the agreements and their proper implementation.
Securing timber exports
The EU has committed to border measures that will exclude unlicensed timber as well as to support the development of Congo's enforcement and auditing systems.
Congo annually exports timber products worth about 240 million EUR , of which half end up in European countries. Although the deal only covers export to EU, the country expects to extend the system to cover all exported timber. The system will thus help to ensure continued export also to non-EU countries where the US Lacey Act prompts buyers to demand proof of legality.
Progress under way in Africa
The first VPA was signed between the EU and Ghana in September 2008, and similar deals are under way in Cameroon, Liberia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. Together with the expected Due Diligence regulation, VPAs are designed to be one of the key instruments to prevent illegal wood products from entering the EU market.
Simultaneously, FSC certification of forests is progressing fast in Africa. The growth in certified forest area is currently much faster than on other continents. These developments promise to seriously halt illegal logging in Africa's precious rainforests, including those of the Congo Basin with its array of rare and endangered species.
Voluntary Partnership Agreements at a glance
A Voluntary Partnership Agreement or VPA is a legally binding pact between EU and a timber exporting country. The VPA concept was developed based on the European Commission’s 2003 Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) that is designed to halt the flow of illegal timber into EU markets.
Countries entering agreements with EU have to develop a Legality Assurance System (LAS) ensuring that all timber exported to EU countries is legal. One of the requirements for the legality system is to establish third-party monitoring of its proper implementation.
Source:European Forest Institute
