Platform News

Issue 1- April 2003 - Quarterly newsletter of the EC Forest Platform

The EC Forest Platform is a FERN initiative that links peoples in the South and the European Community on aid and forest issues.

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Dear Platform members,

It is a real pleasure to send out this first issue of Platform News. The newsletter will be informative, simple, straightforward and above all, generate ideas and responses. It will report on your activities, on what’s happening on aid and forests in the European Community, and will also provide information about how you can find your way through the European Union maze.

In order to make Platform News as useful as possible, please send me information about your activities that you want to publicise to other Platform members. This may be projects, documents, position papers, or just responses to news you see here. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to make Platform News a ‘live’ debate on EC aid and forest issues.

Where relevant, your information and experiences – whether critical or supportive – will be presented to the officials and decision-makers of the European institutions. Through this, Platform members can influence the European Union and how its aid programme affects forests around the world.

Do not hesitate to send me your comments and ideas to improve this newsletter, and please feel free to forward Platform News to interested friends and colleagues.

Happy reading!

Bérénice Muraille, EC Forest Platform co-ordinator

berenice@fern.org

www.fern.org/pages/aid/platform.htm

Contents

Platform debate:

1. Forests: the missing link

2. Gender absent from EC aid programming

New policies from the European Union:

3. New EC aid framework for Asia and Latin America

4. EU Action Plan against illegal logging

5. Legal framework for EC Aid to 77 countries enters into force

Around the world:

6. Company fined for trading in illegal wood

7. African NGOs raise concerns about the Congo Basin Initiative

8. European Commission funds two forest projects in Gabon

9. Small grants to Asian forest communities

Resources:

10. Understanding EU intricacies: new briefings and publications

11. What is the EC Forest Platform?

Platform debates

1. Forests: the missing link

Recent research by FERN has shown that EC aid is not contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of tropical forests and may even lead to forest loss and increase of poverty of forest dependent people. This is partly due to lack of consultation with civil society groups and indigenous peoples organizations in the development of the EC aid programmes or ‘Country Strategy Papers’, which determine how EC funds are spent.  The findings undermine the claim that the EC Development Policy, revised in 2000, integrates the environment into all focal areas as promised by the European Commission.

The research, published in Forests at the Edge: A review of EC aid spending, is based on the investigation into 16 Country Strategy Papers and two Regional strategy Papers.  The amount of aid considered for these countries tops 1.6 billion euros for the next 2-5 years. All the 16 countries investigated (in Africa, Asia, and Latin America) include large areas of forest, yet none of the Country Strategy Papers offers a thorough analysis of how local communities and indigenous peoples depend on forests for food, fuel, materials, and medicines, and livelihood.

The report also found that:

-The connection between poverty and natural resource management is completely overlooked or given only superficial attention;

-In Africa, nearly 50% of aid over 5 years (428 million Euros) will be spent on roads that in many case will facilitate forest degradation and aggravate the conditions for forest-dependent people;

-Participation of civil society and indigenous peoples in the elaboration of the programming documents has been inadequate or inexistent;

-Indigenous peoples issues have been neglected in all CSPs reviewed.

The findings and recommendations of the research were presented at the first EC Forest Platform meeting in Brussels in November 2002. Participants expressed their interest in EC aid related issues and reported that they feel ill-informed about this subject. Therefore, the report and meeting met a timely need to assess what the European Commission and its delegations are up to as regard country programming. The main outcome of the meeting was the common agreement that to influence EC aid programming at country level, action is needed both from European NGOs in Brussels and at member state levels and from Southern NGOs at country/delegation levels. Several action points were agreed.

RELATED LINKS

The report: Forest at the Edge: a review of EC aid spending :  http://www.fern.org/pubs/reports/cspedge.pdf

EC Country Strategy Papers for Asia and Latin America: http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/sp/index.htm

EC Country Strategy Papers for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific

http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/csp_rsp/csp_en.cfm

Minutes of the first EC Forest Platform meeting: http://www.fern.org/pages/aid/plat2.html.

2. Gender absent from EC aid programming

An information sheet by the Network Women in Development (WIDE) says that although gender issues might be addressed in some EU policies, recognition of gender issues is absent when it comes to practice.

In 40 Country Strategy Papers recently reviewed, the concept of gender and mainstreaming is hardly found at all. Priorities for most countries are transport and macro-economic support, areas in which gender mainstreaming has not historically been applied. This is a tune also heard on environmental and forest issues (see article above). Gender is rarely on the agenda in the political dialogue and EC delegation staff seldom push for it.

Despite the EU’s policy statements, problems occur when leadership, political will, and accountability for gender mainstreaming is lacking. This helps explain the disappointing progress in putting gender policies into practice.

RELATED LINKS

Information sheet: Gender in the European Union: Everywhere and Nowhere. http://www.aprodev.net/files/gender/EverywhereNowhere02.pdf

New policies from the European Union

3. New EC aid framework for Asia and Latin America

The European Commission is proposing a new framework for its development co-operation aid to countries of Asia and Latin America (ALA). Aid to these regions represents about 3.8 billion euros for 2003-2006.

The new proposal makes several worrying changes to the current regulation:

- it emphasizes the importance of increasing trade and investment and strengthening the EU’s political and economic presence. 

- References to forests, natural resources, indigenous peoples and local community have been eradicated. This contrasts with the current regulation that sets aside 10% of the funds to be spent on environment, and on tropical forests in particular.

Overall, it seems that the new regulation is based on the belief that integration of [developing countries] in the market economy is the main solution to poverty alleviation, and that EU security and defence interests go before everything else. Unfortunately, the fundamental principle – that a healthy environment and social equity are basic conditions to make market forces work in a sustainable manner – is absent from the newly proposed regulation.

The European Commission’s proposal is subject for approval to the co-decision procedure which means that it has to be considered both by the European Parliament, the only democratically elected institution of the EU, and the Council, the EU legislative arm.

Currently, the proposal is being considered by the European Parliament and a Member of Parliament is in charge of reporting on the issue at a plenary debate (date still to be set). At a European Parliament hearing organized on 19 February 2003, a broad coalition of NGOs, including FERN, called for the EU to ensure that the new regulation will strengthen, not weaken, the EU’s commitment to poverty and sustainable development in the countries of Asia and Latin America. It also called for minimum targets for aid allocation to meet the basic needs of people living in poverty (35%) and for protecting the livelihoods and environments of local communities and indigenous peoples (10%). FERN and others will be lobbying members of the European Parliament to ensure forests and forest peoples receive proper consideration in the new EC aid framework to Asia and Latin America.

RELATED LINKS:

Proposed new ALA regulation: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/pdf/2002/com2002_0340en01.pdf

Current ALA regulation: http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/lif/reg/en_register_11702030.html

Joint NGOs comments: http://www.fern.org/pubs/ngostats/ala.pdf

4. EU Action Plan against illegal logging

As long as illegal logging and trade in illegal forest products continue, there is no hope of controlling deforestation and forest degradation. If governments want their well-meaning initiatives promoting sustainable forest management to have any chance of success, they must stop the flow of illegal timber entering the EU. The European Commission is currently drafting a European Union (EU) Action Plan to address illegal logging and trade.

The Action Plan will include a proposal for a licensing scheme based on voluntary agreements between the EU and partner countries that are concerned about illegal logging. Countries that sign-up to the agreements would then provide a permit proving the legal origin of wood products being exported to the EU   The agreement will include a procedure to license legal timber and wood products as well as independent monitoring mechanisms such as technical systems to identify and track wood products from the point of harvest until the point of export.

The development of a voluntary licensing scheme under the EU Action plan provides the EU and partner countries with a first step to address the trade in illegally-sourced timber. However, the Action Plan does not adequately address the issue of prohibiting illegally-sourced timber and wood products from entering the EU as it does not provide customs and law enforcement agencies with the necessary legal basis to confiscate illegal timber or wood products – wherever they come from - entering the EU. For this, a new legislation at European level is required.

For years, NGOs have explained that illegal logging is not simply an environmental issue but a cross-cutting issue that has implications for democracy, human rights, equitable trade, land rights and access to justice. Illegal logging needs to be addressed both by producer and consuming countries: it is not enough for European countries to allocate development funds to fight illegal logging in-situ. The consumer countries must take responsibility and stop laundering illegally-sourced wood products. They can do so by agreeing to have a legal basis to ban the import of illegal forest products. European NGOs are raising awareness along this line amongst European member states to ensure that the European Union takes responsibility for its involvement in the illegal trade and consumption of timber and wood products. This will provide much-needed encouragement and support to the producer countries attempting to curb illegal logging in their countries.   

RELATED LINKS:

NGO statement: Illegal logging and the global trade in illegally sourced timber: a crime against forest peoples, http://www.fern.org/pubs/ngostats/logging.pdf

Report: Controlling imports of illegal timber: Options for Europe. A policy options paper that offers a thorough analysis and recommendations for member state governments and the European Commission, http://www.fern.org/pubs/reports/options.pdf

5. Legal framework for EC Aid to 77 countries enters into force

Almost three years after its signature (23 June 2000), the Cotonou Agreement entered into force on 1 April 2003. The Agreement, successor of the Lomé Conventions, sets the legal framework for EC trade and aid with 77 countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific for the next 20 years. The Agreement has been partly implemented on a provisional basis since August 2000. One important dimension-the financial implementation provisions- had to be delayed pending ratification by the fifteen EU Member States. This is now done.

 The partnership aims to make ACP-EU  co-operation more efficient and acknowledges mutual responsibilities. The Agreement is built on three interrelated components: political dialogue, trade and investment, and aid. The result is a comprehensive partnership with a long-term perspective of 20 years. The Agreement also explicitly addresses corruption, establishes a framework for dealing with the problem of migration, and ensures the consultation of civil society on the reforms and policies to be supported by the EU.

 The Cotonou Agreement is worth €13.5 billion for the coming five years to which can be added the uncommitted balances worth €2.5 billion from previous EC aid budgets, thus amounting to a total of €16 billion. For the allocation of these resources, 74 Country and Regional Strategy Papers and Indicative Programmes (see also articles 1 and 2 above) have been approved and are ready for implementation. In accordance with the principle of ownership- choices should follow  partner countries’ own development agenda-, these strategy documents were prepared at the level of countries and regions, in co-operation with partner countries and the European Commission, and after consultation with EU member states, other donors and non-state actors. Priority is given in to capacity building  and should be reflected in support for capacity building of governments institutions as well as of non-state actors.

Provisions of the Agreement allow for flexibility through annual and mid-term reviews and resources set aside for unforeseen needs, which can allow for (re) allocation of resources where needed.

RELATED LINKS

Cotonou agreement: http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/development_old/cotonou/index_en.htm

Cotonou infokit: www.ecdpm.org under the publication section

Briefing: Civil society participation and the Cotonou Agreement: www.aprodev.net under the publication section.

News from around the world

6. Company fined for trading in illegal wood

UK customs has won a case concerning £130,000 worth of illegal ramin – a CITES-listed species from Malaysia and Indonesia. The wood was imported under a false description and was seized last year. Arquadia Ltd has admitted guilt and been ordered to pay a fine. Until the EU adopts a new regulation to prohibit the import of illegally-sourced timber, CITES remains the main legal basis for enforcement agencies to prosecute forest crimes.

RELATED LINKS

Briefing by EIA and Telapak: Illegal logging and the international trade in illegally sourced timber: How CITES can help and why it should. Available at www.eia-international.org under forest campaign-publication section

7. African NGOs raise concerns on the Congo Basin Initiative

Sixteen Central African NGOs have issued an open letter expressing strong criticism of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. The NGOs-representing development, human rights and environmental interests in five countries are concerned that the US-led initiative fails to take account of local concerns and turns a blind eye to the perpetrators of illegal logging.

The Congo Basin Forest Partnership launched at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg in August 2002 aims to support a network of national parks and protected areas, encourage well-managed forestry concessions and create economic opportunities for forest dependent people. The main partners of the initiative are the governments of the Congo Basin, the US, five EU donors (France, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Commission), the World Bank, WWF, CIFOR, the American Forest and Paper Association, the Association Technique des Bois Tropicaux, Conservation International Wildlife Conservation Society. The US contribution will be US$53 million for three years (2002-2005) while the EU has allocated up to 42 million euros. At the moment, the partnership is closer to a forum for donors to exchange information and discuss their activities in the region, rather than a common framework and programme for implementation.

In their letter, the Central African NGOs stress that civil society participation from the Congo Basin is non-existent in the partnership and that their access to information is restricted. Moreover some of the initiative partners have contributed to the plundering of forest resources or are even now logging illegally in the Congo Basin. Their participation to the partnership is not even evaluated against their willingness to modify their visions and practices.

The NGOs state that forests in the region have been submitted to intense and often illegal exploitation which has led to deforestation and forest degradation, increased poverty, and inadequate recognition of the rights of forest-dependent peoples. In their letter, they request that information on the means to address these issues is made available and suggest that the partnership put an end to large scale logging in the Congo Basin countries before it starts its activities. NGOs also call for the initiative’s funds to be withheld from any company guilty of illegal logging and urge the partnership to promote  increased access, public participation, and justice in illegal logging cases.

Signatory NGOs are:

Cameroon: CED, CIAD, BUBINGA, IRFF, PLANET-SURVEY, FAGAPECAM

Congo/ Brazaville: OCDH, CCOCE, CLONG , CJP

Central African Republic: OCDN/RAAF

Congo Democratic Republic: RAPY, GTF/CRONGO, Héritiers de la justice

Gabon: Brainforest, EDEN

8. European Commission funds two forest-related projects in Gabon

The European Commission has announced that it will fund two new forest-related projects in Central Africa. The two projects signed with the Gabon Ministry for Development Planning and Programming are funded under the Commission’s environment and forest budget line for an amount of 6.1 million euros in the next four years.

The main grant (4.41 million euros) is for a training project to protect tropical forests in the Congo Basin. The project will bolster the capacity of two institutions, ENEF in Gabon, and ERAIFT in Democratic Republic of Congo, that provide training in natural resource management. as well as supporting the Central Africa Forestry and Environment Training Institutions Network.

The second project (1.7 million euros) is for biodiversity conservation focusing on animal species associated with central Africa. It will also focus on developing appropriate forms of eco-tourism. Income generated by tourism will help cover the operating costs of protected areas and should improve the living conditions of local communities.

9. Small grants to Asian forest communities

It is widely recognized that in many cases small grant projects contribute proportionally more than large ones to the conservation and sustainable management of the tropical forests. Small grant projects also often benefit local people more and are more cost-effective. Despite these advantages not many large donors fund small grant projects as they are more difficult and costly to manage. The EC’s tropical forest budget-line was no different.

In this context, FERN with 13 European NGOs started a campaign, back in 1997, to create a small grants fund under the tropical forest budget-line. FERN and the other NGOs emphasized that NGOs and Indigenous Peoples organizations in tropical forest countries, involved in daily struggle to manage and preserve the forests, were in need of funding. However owing to the nature of their work, they needed small amounts of money, which could be disbursed quickly. 

Many years and several consultants hired by the European Commission to research the possibilities for a small grants fund the NGO lobby succeeded. As of January 2003 a Small Grants Programme for Operations to Promote Tropical Forests (SGP PTF) in Asia started to operate.  The Programme is funded by the European Commission and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme. The main objective of the SGP PTF is the provision of small grants (20,000 -200,000 euros) to enable civil society organizations at country level to implement small forest related projects, which promote sustainable forest use by local stakeholders.

The SGP PTF will operate for five years with an EC contribution via the Tropical Forest Budget Line of 15,132,500 euros. Initially activities in Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are eligible for funding. The SGP PTF portfolio will eventually expand to include Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

The SGP PTF is highly decentralised with country level decision-making, voluntary national steering committees and national coordinators. Within the overall regional framework of the SGP PTF the National Steering Committees have formulated Country Guideline Papers and related Calls for Proposals, which will be issued on an annual basis.

For further country specific information and information on how to apply for small grants in these countries, please visit the SGP PTF website at http://www.sgpptf.org/home.asp

10. Understanding EU intricacies: new briefings and publications

EC Development Aid: a new briefing explaining the different types of EC aid and the policies affecting how it is spent. Hit http://www.fern.org/pubs/briefs/aid2.pdf

EU Enlargement:  a briefing paper highlighting impacts that ten new member states will have on EU aid policies. Arguing that aid has been overlooked in the enlargement debate, the paper underlines that enlargement in the short-term will have an adverse affect on the quantity and quality of EU aid programmes and funding opportunities. See at http://www.bond.org.uk/eu/euenlargement.pdf .

EU Institutions : a guidance note providing concise information on EU basics. It helps to demystify a bit of the EU jargon such as European Community vs European Union, Council, Member states, Coreper, etc. Available at http://www.bond.org.uk/guides/1euinstitutions.pdf

A guide to European Union Funding for NGOs: your way to the labyrinth. More information and order see  http://www.ecas.org

11. What is the EC Forest Platform?

In July 2002 FERN launched the EC (European Community) Forest Platform. The Platform’s aim is to ensure that EC development co-operation (10% of the world Official Development Assistance) has a positive impact on forests and forest peoples. Its main goals are to:

The purpose of the EC Forest Platform is to:

• give a voice to NGOs and forest peoples who want to present their issues to the European Community,
• debate the impacts of EC aid policies and projects on forests and forest peoples,
• provide EC policy makers with ‘on the ground’ information on forests and forest peoples,
• encourage greater co-operation and dialogue between EU based NGOs and Southern NGOs, community based organizations and indigenous peoples organizations.

Platform activities should contribute to a better implementation of commitments made by the European Commission as regard development co-operation, environmental integration, and recognition of civil society as an active partner. Exchanges between European based ENGOs and Southern NGOs should contribute to raise awareness among Northern ENGOs about development-related problems faced by people in the South.

For more information or to become a member of the EC Forest Platform, visit our website www.fern.org/pages/aid/platform.htm or send an e-mail to the Platform co-ordinator, Bérénice Muraille, berenice@fern.org