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Timber Risk Assessment
List of applicable legislation
Risk Mitigation Guide
Document Guide
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Timber Risk Score: 25 / 100 in 2017. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in Argentina for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:

  • Specified risk for 14 sub-categories.

  • Low risk for 4 sub-categories.
  • No legal requirements for 3 sub-categories.

This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in Argentina. 

The Republic of Argentina has 27 million hectares of forest, which cover about 10% of the country. The forest area has decreased at an average annual rate of 1% between 1990 and 2015 (FAO, 2015). 

Natural forests are classified according to the National Law for the Defence Forest Wealth into the following categories:

  • Protective
  • Permanent
  • Experimental
  • Special mountains. Harvesting is subject to legal authorisation.
  • Production. Harvesting is subject to legal authorisation.

Land tenure is private in almost 90% of the national territory. Natural forests can be found in private and public lands, while plantations are mainly in private properties, except for the Provincia de Neuquén where there is a state corporation managing public plantations.

Argentina produces 10 million tons of wood every year (54% pines, 32% Eucalyptus, 11% Salix, 3% other), this production exceeds the industry capacity (GAIN, 2013). Between 90-95% of wood exports come from forest plantations and the rest from natural forests. 

Legality risks are present in timber supply chains in Argentina. The risks appear across all categories of law. If you are sourcing timber from Argentina you should take care to ensure the extensive risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated.

Corruption Perceptions Index

Score: 38 / 100 in 2021

Rank: 96 out of 180 countries in 2021

 

Armed conflict

There are currently no armed conflicts in Argentina according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker.

CITES species

CITES appendix I: Araucaria araucana; Fitzroya cupressoides; Pilgerodendron uviferum; Podocarpus parlatorei

CITES appendix II: Bulnesia sarmientoi, Cedrela spp. 

Certification

FSC Certified Forest Area: 467,055 hectares (4 December 2019)

PEFC Certified Forest Area: 284,765 hectares (31 December 2019). 

Timber sources

  • Find out the different sources of legal timber
  • Determine which source type your timber comes from
Timber source type Description of source type

Timber from natural forests with an Approved Forestry Exploitation permit/plan

Timber from a natural forest with a permit for selective logging. This license is mainly issued if the forest is located in a 'green or yellow zone', according to the OTBN (Ordenamiento Territorial de Bosques Nativos). 

A forest harvesting plan is required (general and according to jurisdiction), including:

  • An Environmental Impact Assessment
  • An inventory
  • An annual harvest plan

The specific name for the permit can differ between provinces. 

Timber from natural forests with a Land Use Conversion Permit

Timber from a natural forest that has been converted to another use. This license is issued if the forest is located in a 'green zone', according to the OTBN (Ordenamiento Territorial de Bosques Nativos). 

The following are required:

  • A public hearing on the project to convert the forest to another use
  • Land use conversion plan (in general and according to jurisdiction), including  an Environmental Impact Assessment 
Timber from a forest plantation

Timber from a plantation.

The following are required:

  • An approved Forest Plan, including an Environmental Impact Assessment (if the benefits of the stated law are to be granted). Harvesting can still take place if a Forest Plan is not approved or the procedure is discontinued, but the benefits of the stated law will not be granted. It is rare for harvesting to occur without an approved Forest Plan. 
  • Transportation documents to accompany the timber. These vary by province.

Harvesting licenses are not required.

Timber from indigenous lands (in selected provinces)

Timber from indigenous lands. This is a limited source of timber. Harvesting and land use conversion is allowed only in a portion of the indigneous land. The most important commercial use registered in these areas is non-timber forest products.

Permits are required.

 

Risk assessment summary

Legal rights to harvest

Legal rights to harvest, EUTR
  • Risk of irregularities related to land tenure and rights to request permits
  • Risk of High Conservation Value Attributes (Atributos de alto valor de conservación - AAVC) is not understood or implemented as required by law 
  • Risk that authorities approve harvesting or planting plans in sites where forestry activities have possibilities of causing impacts on high conservation value attributes
  • Risk that forest inventories do not correspond to the situation in the field. There are risks of changing name species, position in stratums and slopes, diameters, etc 
  • Risk that bribes are paid to field inspecting representatives in relation to harvesting permits
  • Risk of logging being allowed on indigenous lands without free, prior and informed consent from the communities due to mistakes in the land cadaster 
  • Risk of harvesting outside allocated area 
  • Risk of permits issued to different entities on the same plot in consecutive years, allowing over-exploitation of the timber resource and infringing legal requirements 
Taxes and fees
Taxes and fees, EUTR
  • Risk that sales are not recorded, and thus take place without legal sales documents, i.e. sales invoices. If the sale is not legally recorded, the tax for added value is not paid, nor the royalties or other taxes 
  • Risk of general tax withholdings 
  • Risk that income statements are not submitted 

Timber harvesting activities

timber harvesting activities, EUTR
  • Risk of violation of harvesting regulations
  • Risk that forests are illegally cleared 
  • Risk of harvesting within protected areas, often by communities for own consumption 
  • Risk of harvesting of protected species 
  • Risk that species, which are protected in one province, but not in another, are illegally harvested and sold with the claim of being harvested in another province 
  • Risk of incorrect declarations of protected species and CITES species, such as false statement of origin, species, diameter, etc.
  • Risk of violation of environmental requirements 
  • Risk of hazardous residues not managed as required by law 
  • Risk that personal safety equipment is lacking, sub-standard or not used
  • Risk that staff are not trained on the use of personal safety equipment, or the safe way to execute an activity
  • Risk that food and water provided to workers does not meet legal minimum standards
  • Risk that non-registered workers are employed, with the result of lack of payment of taxes, contributions, social security, burial security, union, risk of forced labour, poor transportation, food and lodging conditions 
  • Risk that non-registered workers include underage workers, women with their children, persons with physical problems, illegal immigrants

Third parties' rights

Third party rights, EUTR
  • Risk that non-timber forest products, important to communities and indigenous people, are diminished due to over-exploitation of forest resources when overestimating inventory data 
  • Risk of felling of trees in forest areas protecting watersheds or steep slopes leading to negative impact on watercourses indispensable for rural survival, and reduction of specific non-timber forest products 
  • Risk of felling of trees smaller than the legal minimum, leading to diminishing volumes of wood species traditionally used by rural communities 
  • Risk of conflicts related to water consumption by plantations, land concentration, use of agrochemicals, landscape alteration, among other factors 
Trade and transport
Trade and transport, EUTR
  • Risk of incorrect classification of species 
  • Risk of erroneous volume classification 
  • Risk that natural timber transported does not have legal, reliable, necessary documents 
    • Forged waybills or packing slips
    • Duplicate waybills or packing slip obtained by bribery
    • Volumes higher than that those estimated by the Annual Allowable Cut. 
  • Risk of transfer pricing 
  • Risk of illegal shipments of timber (some cases of narcotic substances masked inside forest shipments of coal coming from natural species have been registered) 
  • Risk of export of illegally harvested natural timber
  • Risk of information on exports documents are not correct
  • Risk of alterations in documents or inaccurate declarations of CITES species as non-CITES species

 

Specified risk species

Common/trade name Scientific name Risk information

Palo Santo

Bulnesia sarmientoi

CITES-listed  
Risk of export without a valid permit, without approval of forest plans. Risk of unsustainable management and other economic and social risks, including: cutting on indigenous lands with no authorisation from the community, non-registered or very low payments for cut timber.

 

Mitigate the risks in your supply chain

Learn which actions we recommended to mitigate the risks associated with the timber sources from Argentina.

Source Certified Materials 

NEPCon believes that third party certification (for example FSC and PEFC certification) can provide strong assurances of the legality of the products they cover. Companies seeking to mitigate the risks of sourcing illegal timber should seek to purchase third party certified materials wherever possible. 

While the European Timber Regulation does not include an automatic “green lane” for certified products, it does recognise the value of certification as a tool for risk assessment and mitigation. The European Commission says that companies “may rate credibly certified products as having negligible risk of being illegal, i.e. suitable for placing on the market with no further risk mitigation measures, provided that the rest of the information gathered and the replies to the risk assessment questions do not contradict such a conclusion.”

For more information on using certified materials in your due diligence, including how to assess whether a certification system meets EUTR requirements, see the page on Certification and Due Diligence.

Mitigation recommendations

There are five recommended actions to mitigate the risks associated with timber sources from Argentina:

1. Fully map your supply chain

2. Obtain and verify documents 

  • Forest level documents
    • Land registry
    • Valid business registration
    • Original document or Notary Certified Copy of Property Titles or similar
    • Legal agreements with notary intervention for usufructuary rights, Real Rights of Land, third party harvesting contracts and similar
    • Applicable harvesting permit. The names of which vary according to province; e.g.; Approved Forestry Exploitation permit/plan, Land use Conversion Permit, Forest Plan
    • Sustainable Forest Management Plans for natural forests
    • Harvesting Plan of land use Conversion, approved by the authorities (natural forests)
    • Forest plan approved by competent authorities (plantations)
    • Maps showing harvesting, protection, and communal areas, forest roads, intermediate collecting yards
    • Forest inventories 
    • Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Tax related documents
    • Payment receipts for taxes and harvesting fees
    • Sale documents shall include the VAT
    • Receipt for payment of profits payment together with AFIP Form 711
    • Receipt for payment of Minimum Alleged Profit
    • Receipt for payment of Gross Income in each province
  • Employment related documents
    • Formal employment contracts
  • Documents related to third parties
    • Records of free, prior and informed consent (previous consultation)
    • Reports on evictions of natural communities
    • Legal and correctly designed waybills (natural forest)
    • Correctly designed packing slip (plantations)
  • Transport and trade documents
    • Natural forest: Waybill (Guía Forestal) 
    • Plantations: Timber packing slip (Remito de madera)
    • Sales invoice (Factura de venta) with information linking it to the waybill(s) or packing slips, as applicable
    • Require audit report for transfer pricing
    • Loading permit (Permiso de embarque)
    • Shipping permit (Permiso de embarque) 
    • Bill of lading (Listado de empaque) 
    • Phytosanitary Certificate (Certificado fitosanitario)
    • Certificate of Origin (Certificado de origen)
    • Packing List (Listado de carga de embarque)
    • Export invoice linking the shipment with the statement in the Packing List (Factura de exportación que vincule la carga con la declaración del Packing List)
    • Export Licence of CITES species (Licencia de exportación de especies CITES)

3. Consult with appropriate stakeholders

  • Neighbours, local communities and others confirm that land tenure rights are clear.  Note: The names of the appropriate people to consult vary by community, and include Community Center, the Aboriginal Council, Elders Council, Chief (Cacique)
  • Fiscal authorities of the province where the goods originated confirm that all taxes on revenues and profits have been paid
  • Provincial forests authorities from where the wood was sourced confirm conformance with harvesting regulations
  • Competent provincial authorities or provincial delegations confirm:
    • If the project has any pending environmental disqualifications or penalties
    • Validity of permit
    • The state of transfer prices reports and establishment of offshore associations of the seller
  • Forest level staff confirm that they are trained to carry out required work tasks 
  • Forest level staff confirm that they have certified skills for the work they do and undergo periodic exams performed by ART professionals as required by law
  • Forest level staff confirm that they are aware of labour risks and of health and safety measures at work
  • Forest level staff confirm that they receive minimum wage stated in the Collective Agreement
  • Forest level staff confirm that they are above the minimum working age
  • Forest level staff confirm that they have mandatory insurance cover
  • Forest level staff confirm that they receive safety equipment required by law, as well as training courses on health and safety at work
  • Forest level staff confirm that they have lodging, transportation, food that complies with all legal requirements
  • Forest level staff confirm that they are not being forced to sign papers declaring false labour conditions, and have not been denied their freedom to collectively bargain with their employer 

4. Carry out on-site verification

  • Confirm that harvesting takes place within property limits and maps correspond to reality
  • Confirm that contractors have a Timber Extraction Contract 
  • Confirm that data regarding area, species and volumes, as well as the rest of information included in the harvesting permit are correct 
  • Confirm that harvesting regulations are respected
  • Confirm that harvesting does not take place where law prohibitions or specific provisions from sector authorities exist
  • Confirm that selected tree species within the FMU are not harvested 
  • Confirm that on-site environmental restrictions are fulfilled, such as the requirements related to soil damages, buffer zones, seed trees, seasonal limitations in the rainy season, etc.
  • Confirm that a hazardous residues management plan is implemented
  • Confirm that all safety and health regulations areimplemented and all necessary safety equipment for a specific activity is provided and used 

5. Conduct targeted timber testing

  • Conduct timber testing on samples of purchasd material to verify the species or origin of timber, where appropriate
Profile Publication Date
2017-11-01