Publications
Enabling micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in legal timber production and trade
2022
This paper draws from 110 initiatives in 20 countries supported by the FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme between 2016 and 2022 and seeks to provide examples of how to support forest sector MSMEs cost-effectively and at scale to integrate them into domestic and international legal timber value chains.
FAO-EU FLEGT Programme: Results, impacts and lessons learned from designing and implementing timber legality verification systems
2022
The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme was established in 2016 to support the implementation of the EU FLEGT Action Plan. Across it's implementation, the Programme sought to tackle illegal logging, promote trade in legal timber products, and ultimately contribute to SFM and poverty reduction. During this time a range of achievements and lessons learned were documented which are presented in this brochure alongside recommendations for future programming.
Legal and sustainable forest value chains for climate action
2022
Legal and sustainable forest value chains hold significant potential to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the target, outlines in the Paris Agreement, to limit average global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Ensuring the integration of legality and sustainability throughout forest value chains is instrumental to promoting sustainable forest management and supporting sustainable livelihood strategies.
Timber traceability – A management tool for governments
2022
There are growing demands for countries to develop national timber traceability systems. These demands range from a country’s own needs to track timber and collect associated revenues consistently, to international demands for due diligence regarding the legality of the timber for imports, and in some cases where a country has entered into a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU.
Increasing legality compliance amongst forest sector MSMEs: creating an enabling environment for responsible forest product trade and socio-economic recovery
2022
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a critical role in meeting the growing demand for forest products worldwide, with potential to contribute to responsible supply chains that combat illegal logging while promoting economic growth. However, MSMEs have been challenged by the emergence of regulated markets requiring verified legal timber, which involve more stringent regulatory compliance and additional up-front costs.
Increasing stakeholder participation in forest law reform process: Case studies from FAO-EU FLEGT Programme
2022
This project, carried out and co-financed by ClientEarth, includes a review of nine projects that focused on increasing stakeholder participation in legal reform processes in the following countries: the Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines. The publication includes the aggregate findings of the six focus countries, general analysis and recommendations.
Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in voluntary partnership agreement countries: Constraints and opportunities for women in wood-based value chains in forestry cooperatives in Honduras
2021
This brief describes the constraints as well as opportunities of women in the wood-based supply chain, from a case study from seven community-based forest cooperatives in the Atlántida, El Paraíso and Francisco Morazán regions of Honduras. These cooperatives are involved in a variety of income generating and employment opportunities based around wood product value chains; trade in other non-wood products, and small-scale livestock.
Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in VPA-implementing countries. MALEBI: Women at the forefront of sustainable charcoal production in Côte d'Ivoire
2021
This brief describes the constraints as well as opportunities of women in the wood-based supply chain, from a case study that focuses on The Association of Women Producers and Traders of Secondary Forest Products (MALEBI) in Côte d’Ivoire. Within the framework of an agreement with the Ivorian government, MALEBI produces and sells charcoal from wood harvested in the Ahua gazetted forest and, in return, is committed to reforesting 5 hectares per year in the same forest area.
Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in voluntary partnership agreement countries: a case study from La Xuyen wood village in Nam Dinh province, Viet Nam
2021
This brief is part of a larger study that seeks to identify the knowledge gaps around gender in the forest sectors of Côte d’Ivoire, Viet Nam and Honduras by assessing the role of women in wood-based value chains and identifying possible interventions or recommendations to reduce gender disparities during VPA negotiations and implementation. This study seeks to complement the emerging body of work on the topic of gender in the VPA.
Stronger together: How trade associations in tropical timber-producing countries multiply benefits for forest sector MSMEs
2021
A wide body of experience within and beyond the forestry sector recognizes the power of associations in bringing together small-scale actors, especially micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs). Associations offer increased economies of scale in purchasing, producing, and providing greater bargaining power.
Supporting forest sector micro, small and medium enterprises at scale
2021
Between 2016-2021, the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme funded 96 MSME support projects in 20 countries globally. These projects reached 3,300 MSMEs in total, but the 41 projects with a specific capacity building focus were able to train an average of 71 MSMEs per project. Although these projects were instrumental in helping beneficiaries to operate legally and access new markets, the number of MSMEs reached remains small ...
Unlocking the potential of community timber
2021
Growing international and domestic demand for tropical timber has resulted in critical wood supply gaps for many tropical timber-producing countries, in some instances linked to a surge in illegal logging. Growing shortages of legal timber supply have necessitated the exploration of alternative sources of legally produced timber. Community forestry has been recognized as a potential source that could boost legal timber supply on the domestic market of tropical timber-producing countries.
Promoting legality within the private forest sector: obstacles and incentives to formalization
2021
Informal forest sector micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are often equated with being “illegal” when their mode of production, source of raw materials, or even their legal existence does not conform with their country’s regulatory requirements. This characterization fails to recognize the complex circumstances many MSMEs faces, especially in countries where the requirements for legality compliance and achieving formal status are not clear.
Selected publications and visibility materials by partners - FAO-EU FLEGT Programme Phase III
2021
This list is a compilation of selected materials produced by the Programme’s Service Providers throughout Phase III, grouped by the main thematic areas of Programme support
New studies by the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) now available online
2021
Publications are fruit of the collaboration between CATIE and the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme and cover a range of topics - from the negotiation of voluntary partnership agreements to the development of national forest policies in Latin America
Honduras: Securing land rights of local communities and agroforestry cooperatives
2021
Formalizing the status of ejidal lands and strengthening the capacities of local authorities to manage them is a key step towards improved forest governance in Honduras, which signed a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) with the European Union in February 2021.
Colombia: Building the capacities of MSMEs to supply legal timber to the domestic market
2021
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) play a crucial role in Colombia’s domestic timber market but lack awareness of legal requirements and the skills to comply with them. The FAO-EU Forest LawEnforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme partnered with the Federación de Industriales de la Madera (FEDEMADERAS) to build the capacities of 61 MSMEs on legal, environmental and fiscal requirements and to link small timber operators to legal timber suppliers.
Regional: South-South cooperation advances transparency objectives in West and Central Africa
2021
Cooperation between national NGOs in West and Central Africa has advanced transparency and legality objectives in the forest sector across the region. The FAO-EUForest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme has partnered with local NGOs to expand Independent Forest Monitoring activities by promoting regional cooperation. Independent forest observers are now better equipped to monitor the use of forest resources and participate in related decision-making processes.
Guyana: Empowering indigenous forest-dependent communities to manage and monitor forest resources
2021
The project saw the successful piloting of the protocols in the village of Bethany, where community members were equipped with the skills and knowledge to negotiate with extractive resource companies and monitor their activity on customary land. The project offers a potential new pathway to regulating the use of resources within customary land in Guyana.
Innovative digital approaches to sustaining livelihoods through the production and sale of legal timber
2021
The FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme has supported the development of e-commerce platforms, which helps incentivize legal timber trade on both domestic and export markets, and protect livelihoods. These platforms have become even more relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging business continuity by reducing the need for face-to-face interactions between buyers and sellers.