Controlling Timber Imports into the EU
14 December 2004
Joint NGO Statement
This statement outlines what we, the undersigned NGOs, believe must be done at EU level, as part of the EU process on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) to address the import of illegally sourced timber in the EU and the illegal practices of the EU timber industry. Although this statement focuses on illegal logging, we would like to state that legal and illegal logging are often closely linked and that legal logging can be highly destructive. The illegal aspect of the current timber trade is only part of the wider problem of a timber industry that has largely been unable to regulate itself and is destroying forests and peoples’ livelihoods on a grand scale. Actions addressing the illegality of operations can therefore not be seen as separate from actions addressing the wider issue of destructive logging practices. It is ultimately the issue of forest sustainability that needs to be addressed. As many forestry legal regimes permit or even encourage corporate malpractice and deny the rights of forest dependent peoples, it is vital that FLEGT initiatives do not reinforce inappropriate laws.
INTRODUCTION
As one of the largest importers of illegally sourced timber and forest products, and with European timber companies heavily implicated in this trade, the European Union has the power and the duty to curtail these activities. In international fora, the EU and its member states have repeatedly committed themselves to stop the illegal exploitation and trade in timber and wood products, and contribute to sustainable forest management. In the Action Plan released in May 2003, the European Commission sets out an approach which consists of linking measures to stop illegal logging in timber producing countries with a voluntary licensing scheme to ensure only legal timber is imported into the EU. The licensing scheme will be set up via voluntary partnerships with producer countries. The European Commission will also review options for additional legislation to control imports of illegally harvested timber into the EU. We urge the EU, as a matter of priority, to:
1 ADOPT NEW LEGISLATION TO OUTLAW IMPORTS OF ALL ILLEGALLY SOURCED TIMBER AND FOREST PRODUCTS INTO THE EU
For the FLEGT action plan to be successful, we believe it cannot be restricted to voluntary mechanisms alone.We therefore call on the European Union to develop and adopt new legislation to outlaw imports of all illegally sourced timber and forest products, regardless of the country of origin. This legislation must give EU enforcement officials the legal means to seize illegally sourced timber, and prosecute European companies and individuals responsible for this trade. It must also allow common interest groups to bring cases and participate as third parties. By doing so, the EU would support the voluntary process, share the burden of responsibility for illegal practices with producer countries and close the European market to illegal products.
2 BUILD SUPPORT FOR THE VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS
Bilateral and regional approaches are a key step in the fight against illegal logging.The negotiations of these agreements must bring together all interested parties in producer and consumer countries for developing solutions and promoting responsible forest management. To be effective and legitimate, we believe that these partnership agreements, must be:
- developed through mechanisms of broad engagement with civil society organisations and favourable towards community forestry.
- aimed at creating public accountability and transparency in the management of natural resources;
- based on a proper assessment of all partnership country’s national forest and related laws (including environmental laws, human rights laws, land tenure laws and others);
These demands are fully in line with the demands of the EU Council (1). Only once there is agreement in the producer country on the process and subsequently on what constitutes illegal timber, can an effective licensing system, identifying legal timber, be set up.
3 REVIEW AND GREEN THE EXISTING NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN LEGISLATION
While awaiting the implementation and enforcement of the measures above, we recommend the European Governments take immediate action at the national level to review and amend existing national legislation:
- EU member states and EU institutions must develop guidelines to procure legal goods and promote responsible forest management.
- EU member states must amend national and EU money laundering legislation so as to include environmental crime, such as illegal logging and illegal timber trade;
- EU member states must work to include more timber species on the CITES appendices and EU Regulation 338/97, as well as encourage producer countries to list more timber species under Appendix III of CITES.
- EU member states must provide sufficient resources for customs authorities. At the European level a task force on environmental crime should be created.This should include all competent experts and departments working together at national level and coordinating under Europol and Eurojust.
- Many European based companies are heavily involved in the trade in illegally sourced timber and many European financial institutions involved in financing it The EU must therefore, as a first step, take urgent action to ensure that no EU taxpayers money is being used to subsidise illegal logging, and, as a second step, draw up binding standards for financial institutions, such as export credit agencies and private and public banks.
THE UNDERSIGNED NGOS URGE YOU TO SUPPORT THE ACTIONS STATED ABOVE
If the European Union fails to take immediate action to shut down the market for illegal timber and to actively promote forestry reform and responsible forest management, illegal and destructive logging will continue, destroying the forests and the livelihoods of the people who depend on them.
(1) Council of the European Union (2003). Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT): Proposal for an EU Action Plan.
SIGNATURES
ORGANISATIONS.
1) 11.11.11, Coalition of the Flemish North South Movement, Belgium
2) Agir Ici, France
3) AMAN (Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara), Jakarta, Indonesia
4) Amici della Terra (FOE Italy), Italy
5) Amis de la Terre France, France
6) ARA, Germany
7) Asia Pacific Unit, Australian Conservation Foundation, Australia
8) Bandung Environment Action Collective (Gerombolan Aksi Lingkungan Bandung),West Java, Indonesia
9) Baruga Bina Bangsa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
10) BEBSiC, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
11) Berggorilla & Regenwald Direkthilfe, Germany
12) Betang Borneo Foundation, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
13) Bioma Foundation, East Kalimantan, Indonesia,
14) Birdlife Sweden, Sweden
15) Birds Head NGO Coalition (Koalisi LSM Kepala Burung), West Papua, Indonesia
16) BOCS Foundation, Hungary
17) Borneo Resources Institutue (BRIMAS), Sarawak, Malaysia
18) Brasilieninitiative Freiburg e.V., Germany
19) BREN,
20) Cakrawala Hijau Foundation Indonesia, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
21) CAPPA, Jambi, Indonesia
22) Central and East European Working Group for the Enhancement of Biodiversity, Hungary
23) Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, Malaysia
24) Centre for the Study of Law and Regional Autonomy Regulation (PSHK ODA – Pusat Studi Hukum & Kebijakan Otonomi Daerah), Jambi, Indonesia
25) Citra Bina Mandiri Foundation, Jambi, Indonesia
26) Clean Air Action Group, Hungary
27) Conservation International Indonesia,West Papua, Indonesia
28) Conservation Melanesia Inc., Papua New Guinea
29) Die VERBRAUCHER INITIATIVE e.V., Germany
30) Down to Earth, UK
31) Drava Federation, Hungary
32) Earthlink, Germany
33) East Kalimantan Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), East Kalimantan, Indonesia
34) Eco Papua Raja Ampat,West Papua, Indonesia
35) ELF, Estonian Fund for Nature, Estonia
36) Energy Klub, Hungary
37) Environment and Nature Conservation (Konservasi Alam dan Lingkungan Hidup- KALi), North Sumatra, Indonesia
38) Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA),
39) Evergreen Indonesia, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia,
40) Estonian Green Movement, Estonia
41) Fauna Association, Hungary
42) FERN, Brussels
43) Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC), Finland
44) Finnish ECA Reform Campaign, Finland
45) Finnish Nature League, Finland
46) FORCERT – Forest Management & Product Certification Service, Papua New Guinea
47) Forest Monitor, UK
48) Forest Peoples Programme, UK
49) Forum ökologie & papier, Germany
50) Friends of the Earth Finland,
51) Friends of the Earth Netherlands
52) Friends of the Earth Sweden
53) Friends of Siberian Forests (Russia)
54) Gate Green Club, Hungary
55) Gesellschaft für ökologische Forschung, Germany
56) Global Witness Cambodia, Cambodia
57) Göncöl Alliance, Hungary
58) Green Circle of Pécs, Hungary
59) Green Source Environmental Organisation, Hungary
60) Greenglobe Sport Club, Hungary
61) Greenpeace International
62) Groenhart, Belgium
63) HIMBA Conservation Study Group (Kelompok Studi Konservasi HIMBA), South Sumatra, Indonesia
64) HuMuSz Waste Reduction Alliance, Hungary
65) Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation, Hungary
66) ICCO (Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation), the Netherlands
67) Independent Ecological Center, Hungary
68) Indonesian Ecolabel Foundation (Lembaga Ekolabel Indonesia), West Java, Indonesia
69) Indonesian Non-Partisan Community (Komunitas Non Partisan Indonesia), South Sulawesi, Indonesia
70) INSAN (Saijaan Fishermans Network – Ikatan Nelayan Saijaan), South Kalimantan, Indonesia
71) Insist (Indonesian Society for Social Transformation), Central Java, Indonesia
72) JARI Kaltim, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
73) Jaringan Investigasi Sawit (JaIS), Jambi, Indonesia
74) Jikalahari – Riau Forest Protection Network, Riau, Indonesia
75) JKPP – Participatory Mapping Network Indonesia (Jaringan Kerja Pemetaan Partisipatif),West Java, Indonesia
76) Kaliptra Sumatera, Riau, Indonesia
77) Kelompok Pecinta Alam Jelajah, Riau, Indonesia
78) Kerekerd_ Foundation, Hungary
79) KKO (Komunitas Kaos Oblong),West Java, Indonesia
80) Klima-Bündnis der europäischen Städte mit indigenen Völkern der Regenwälder, Germany
81) KLOP – Komunitas Lokal Pinggiran, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
82) KoBra Kooperation Brasilien e.V., Germany
83) Kritische ökologie/ifak e.V., Germany
84) Kwia, Flemish Support Group for Indigenous Peoples, Belgium
85) Lanius Association for Nature Conservation, Hungary
86) LAPAR Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
87) Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia
88) Lembaga Investigasi Konflik Agraria (Agrarian Conflict Investigation Agency),West Sulawesi, Indonesia
89) Lesman, East Java, Indonesia
90) Lithuanian Fund for Nature, Lithuania
91) LPMA – Organisation for Indigenous Peoples Empowerment (Lembaga Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Adat), South Kalimantan, Indonesia
92) Madani Foundation, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
93) Makassar Organic Agriculture Network (Mitra Pertanian Organik Makassar), South Sulawesi, Indonesia
94) NABU Naturschutzbund (Birdlife Germany), Germany
95) National Federation of Women’s Institutes, UK
96) National Society for Nature Conservation, Hungary
97) Nepenthes, Denmark
98) NIMFEA Environment and Nature Conservation Association, Hungary
99) Oxfam GB
100) PADI – Bioagriculture and Social Movement, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
101) PAHAT – Al-Husainy Tosora Centre, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
102) Pangea Cultural and Environmental Association, Hungary
103) Partners of Community Organisation (PACOS), Sabah, Malaysia
104) Partners with Melanesia, Boroko, Papua New Guinea
105) Partnership for Riau Spatial Planning, Riau, Indonesia
106) Peduli Indonesia, East Java, Indonesia
107) Pinang Sebatang Foundation (Yayasan Pinang Sebatang), Jambi, Indonesia
108) People’s Justice Foundation, Jambi, Indonesia
109) POKJA PA PSDA – Working Group for Agrarian Reform of Natural Resource Development, Jakarta, Indonesia
110) POKJA 30 – Badan Pekerja Forum Himpunan Pokja 30, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
111) Pro Regenwald, Germany
112) Protect the Future Society, Hungary
113) Putih Foundation (Yayasan Putih), East Kalimantan, Indonesia
114) RACA Institute, Jakarta, Indonesia
115) Rainforest Concern, UK
116) Regenwald-Institut e.V., Germany
117) REM, UK
118) Research and Conservation Foundation of Papua New Guinea (RCF), Papua New Guinea
119) Rettet den Regenwald e.V., Germany
120) Riau Advocacy Group, Riau, Indonesia
121) Robin Wood e.v., Bereich Tropenwald, Germany
122) RSPB (UK BirdLife International Partner), UK
123) Safier, Belgium
124) Sawitwatch Indonesia, Bogor, Indonesia
125) Sibecocentrem Russia,
126) Somogy Natural Heritage Foundation, Hungary
127) SPOK Russia,
128) Stiftung Artenschutz, Germany
129) Studio KENDIL,West Java, Indonesia
130) Sumatra Ecotourism Foundation (Yayasan Ekowisata Sumatra), North Sumatra, Indonesia
131) SUMPIT Community, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
132) Survie, France
133) Swami Foundation, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia
134) Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Sweden
135) Tenkile Conservation Alliance, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea
136) The Ecoforestry Forum, Boroko, Papua New Guinea
137) The NGO Forum on Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
138) The Woodland Trust, UK
139) urgewald, Germany
140) VBV (Organisation for forests in Flanders), Belgium
141) Vétérinaires Sans Frontières – Cicda, France
142) VODO – Flemish Platform on Sustainable Development, Belgium
143) Wahanaliar foundation,West Sumatra, Indonesia
144) Walhi (Friends of the Earth Indonesia),Jakarta, Indonesia
145) Walhi Central Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
146) Walhi Central Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
147) Walhi East Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
148) Walhi Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia
149) Walhi South East Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia
150) Walhi South Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
151) Walhi South Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
152) Walhi West Java,West Java, Indonesia
153) Walhi West Sumatra,West Sumatra, Indonesia
154) Watch Indonesia!, Germany
155) Westfälische Gesellschaft für Artenschutz e.V., Germany
156) Women’s Environmental Network, UK
157) Working Group on Women and Mining (Tim Kerja Perempuan dan Tambang – TKPT), East Kalimantan, Indonesia
158) Worldforests, Scotland
159) WWF International
160) Yayasan Merah Putih Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
161) YDT – Tempe Lake Foundation (Yayasan Danau Tempe), South Sulawesi, Indonesia,
162) YKL Indonesia (Indonesian-Marine Conservation Foundation – Yayasan Konservasi Laut Indonesia), Indonesia
163) Youth Conservationist Association of Hajduboszormeny, Hungary
164) YSBB – Sejahtera Bina Bangsa Foundation, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
165) Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz, GermanyINDIVIDUALS:
1) Deddy R, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
2) Ahdiat R. Mahbara, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
3) Rahmat Sumarlin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
4) Rahmat Mulyadi, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
5) Nurdiyani R, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
6) Ary Zullutfi, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
7) Eko L Dj, South Kalimantan, Indonesia
8) Supardi La Saming, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
9) Harun, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
10) Soleman, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
11) Anto, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
12) Muammar Kadhafi, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia
13) Yoga Sofyar, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
14) Ihlas Muhammad, South East Sulawesi, Indonesia
15) Alvin Hidayat, Indonesia, Indonesia
16) Yuyun Indradi, Jakarta, Indonesia
17) Rukaiyah Rofiq, Jambi, Indonesia
18) Hasjrul Junaid, Jakarta, Indonesia
19) M.Teguh Surya, Riau, Indonesia
20) Ardin Tahir, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
21) Didin Suryadin, Jakarta, Indonesia
22) A.Wijayanto,West Papua, Indonesia
