Honduras-EU voluntary partnership agreement ratified today
Tegucigalpa, 17 December 2021
Honduras is the first Latin American country to ratify a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) in Timber Products with the European Union. The country has made significant commitments to sustainable forest management in the past decade. The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme has been a key partner in Honduras’ path towards timber legality and sustainability by providing technical and financial support in the process of implementing the VPA and financing 52 local projects for an approximate value of USD 2.8 million. The initiatives focused on the development of the country’s Timber Legality Assurance System, livelihoods and land tenure, support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and legality across the timber value chain.
The VPA was signed earlier this year, in February, and on 27 September, the delegation of the Minister-Director of the National Institute of Forest Conservation and Development, Protected Areas and Wildlife (ICF) met with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) senior officials and technical experts for a two-day meeting on the execution of the VPA.
See the official legal gazette of the VPA in Honduras here.
For more information:
Honduras y la Unión Europea firman Acuerdo Voluntario de Asociación
EU Press Release - EU and Honduras sign agreement to reduce illegal timber logging
Honduras ratifies the Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union