Global and regional initiatives
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Workshop Announcement
INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON ‘LEGALITY OF TRADED TIMBER: THE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES’
24-26 November 2008, FAO, Rome
FAO-ITTO regional workshops on forest law enforcement (2006-2007)
Regional workshops organized jointly by FAO and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) ¿ will take place in four key regions affected by illegal logging: the Amazon region, Central America, Central Africa and Southeast Asia. The main purpose of the workshops will be to provide an opportunity for countries to jointly identify the causes and impacts of illegal forestry activities in their regions; to share experiences on best practices to improve forest law compliance; and to establish or strengthen regional networks on forest law enforcement. Participants will include representatives of forest administrations, members of non-governmental organizations active in combating illegal forestry activities in the regions and representatives from the forest industry and/or wood products exporters.
<em>>> Concept note of workshops</em>
Amazon region
Central Africa
Central America
Southeast Asia
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The regional Workshop on “Forest Law Enforcement in the Amazon” was jointly organized by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), FAO and ITTO and was hosted by the Government of Brazil. The workshop, held from 29-31 August 2006 in Guararema, Sao Paulo, Brazil, brought together over 50 legal and forestry experts from the eight ACTO member countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Surinam, Peru and Venezuela) as well as representatives from international organizations.
The meeting, one of the first such gatherings of technical experts from the Amazon region, heard detailed summaries of the status of forest law enforcement in each of the member countries, focusing on instruments available and opportunities to further improve development and enforcement of forestry laws. Group work focused on policy and legal frameworks; institutional structures and opportunities for social participation; and technology and information.
The Regional Workshop on Forest Law Enforcement in Central Africa took place on 9-11 January 2007 in Libreville, Gabon. It was jointly organized by COMIFAC, FAO and ITTO and hosted by the Government of Gabon. The meeting was attended by more than 60 participants representing forestry and wildlife administrations, non-governmental organizations and the private forestry sector of the ten member countries of COMIFAC (Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Sao Tomé & Principe, and Chad) as well as representatives of regional organizations and development partners.
The objective of the workshop was to promote a multi-actor dialogue and the exchange of experiences among COMIFAC member countries on the best practices for improving law compliance in the forest sector.
The main outcomes include a stronger ownership of the forest law enforcement process in the Central Africa sub-region, the deepening of the commitment of the public and private sectors and civil society to collaborate, the awareness of the need for concrete actions. Priority actions identified include
- revising and harmonizing national policies and legislation related to forests through the involvement of all stakeholders
- enhancing national capacities for law enforcement
- strengthening the sub-regional consultation and cooperation framework for the control of illegal transboundary activities.
- supporting countries in establishing the instruments to reinforce forest control, particularly a binding inter-state Convention.
FAO and ITTO were requested to continue supporting countries in their efforts to strengthen capacities for forest policy and law enforcement, particularly in relation to the AFLEG/FLEGT processes and to support the translation, dissemination and extension of forest laws and regulations.
Next steps include the establishment of national technical committees for the elaboration and validation of forest regulations in each country, the development of a road map for the AFLEG/FLEGT process and the adoption of an inter-state convention for forest control.
<p>Workshop report (as PDF)</p>Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya Rosales was the guest of honour at the ITTO-FAO sponsored workshop to promote better forest law compliance in the Central American region. President Zelaya told the more than 60 experts from 9 countries attending the workshop that social change was required in Honduras and many other countries in the region to improve recognition of the importance of sustainable development and management of forest resources. He noted that such change would often be resisted by vested interests, and that vigorous efforts needed to be maintained to fight illegal logging, illegal trade of timber and illegal deforestation. He stressed the importance of implementing and enforcing existing laws, noting that his government was mobilizing the armed forces (including thousands of armed troops, helicopters and other supporting infrastructure) in its battle against commercial illegal loggers.
The workshop was held in San Pedro Sula from June 27-29. Participants included forestry administrators, environmental prosecutors, civil society and the private sector from Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. The workshop was convened in collaboration with the Honduran Forest Administration (AFE-COHDEFOR) and the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD). All participating countries are CCAD members with the exception of Mexico which is an observer.
Objectives of the workshop were to:
- facilitate an interchange between countries and representatives of different sectors from the region on their experiences in dealing with illegal logging and illegal timber trade;
- promote dialogue between the various actors working in forests in the region;
- develop recommendations of best practices to improve forest law compliance, emphasizing the policy and legal framework, institutional structures and mechanisms for participation of civil society, and technology/information; and
- prepare recommendations for CCAD to assist member countries to improve the implementation of forest laws.
PowerPoints
Organized by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), a regional workshop was held during 11-13 September in Manila, Philippines, to promote multi-stakeholder dialogue and the exchange of views among countries in Southeast Asia on the challenges related to improving forest law compliance and governance, and to agree on tangible and deliverable actions to enhance progress on the ground.
Some 50 representatives from concerned government agencies, NGOs and private sector in 10 countries as well as 14 regional/international organizations actively engaged in panel and plenary discussions and working group deliberations.
The workshop reiterated the aspirations and high-level commitment of the Bali Ministerial Declaration in September 2001 to address illegal logging and its associated trade, and took stock of the ongoing initiatives carried out, among others, by the East Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (EA-FLEG) process, ASEAN Secretariat, Asia Forest Partnership, the EU-FLEGT Action Plan, FAO and ITTO.
Towards a holistic strategy and concrete actions
Any strategy aimed at addressing the problems of illegal logging must be holistic and include a wide range of policy, legal, institutional and technical options designed to: 1) rationalize the policy and legal framework; 2) build institutional capacity; and 3) improve knowledge and information about the forest resources and sector.
These three key elements of an integrated strategic approach to improve forest law compliance and governance formed the framework for the workshop structure and process. Accordingly, the participants were able to identify the major obstacles to improving compliance and governance, formulate concrete recommendations and next steps to surmount these barriers, and specify the roles of different stakeholders in implementing the recommended actions.
Effectively implementing these recommendations would have profound impacts in terms of delivering on the promise of the Bali Declaration and acting as an effective deterrent for future forest crimes. For example, the arrest, prosecution and conviction of major large-scale illegal loggers and/or corrupt government officials, along with seizure and forfeiture of all ill-gotten wealth, would be a major breakthrough for ongoing initiatives to curb illegal logging.
One critical action identified for all stakeholders is to develop strategic alliances for effective resource mobilization to support the implementation of future actions, which includes promoting corporate social responsibility approaches, securing government budget allocations, and obtaining supplementary donor support for transitional arrangements and capacity building.
The participants strongly urged governments to make explicit commitments to implement recommended actions and time-bound next steps at upcoming meetings regarding FLEG, including the 29th ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry Conference (Bangkok, September 2007), in which a ministerial declaration or statement on EA-FLEG is expected to be issued, and the second EA-FLEG Ministerial Meeting (anticipated sometime in 2008).
<p>Workshop outline (as PDF)</p> <p>Workshop report (as PDF)</p> Summary of Workshop RecommendationsPowerPoints
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Best practices for improving law compliance in the forest sector (2005)
FAO in cooperation with ITTO published a set of best practices for improving forest law compliance with the goal of distilling available knowledge that decision makers could follow to reduce illegal operations in the forest sector. It is the first study of its kind to present a comprehensive and critical assessment of the rich experiences being acquired to fight forest crime and the lessons learnt for promoting good governance in the forest sector. The report, which was published in November 2005, is based on eleven country case studies from Asia, Latin America and Africa.
>> Publication and case studies
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Assistance to COMIFAC on forest law enforcement (2005-2007)
Under the FAO-Netherlands Partnership Programme, FAO started a project in 2005 to assist the Commmission des forêts d¿Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC) in the implementation of its Convergence Plan (Plan de Convergence). The objectives of the project are to:
- Harmonize the forestry and fiscal policies of the member countries (DRC, Republic of Congo, CAR, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Chad) to ensure that they are in line with sustainable forest management principles;
- develop and implement a regional strategy for combating illegal forest harvesting of timber, and illegal poaching of wildlife;
- and facilitate an ongoing regional dialogue on sustainable forest management.