What has been achieved so far
In 2003 the EU launched its flagship Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. It set out a series of measures to improve forest governance and end the scourge of illegal logging, including the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which requires companies to verify the legality of timber products they import into the EU. Member States must also check that companies are complying.
FLEGT also launched trade deals between the EU and timber producing countries, called Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), which aim to ensure that wood exported to the EU is legally produced, and that exporting countries improve national laws, tackle corruption and unclear land tenure and access rights.
As of early 2024 there was one licensing country, Indonesia, and eight negotiating countries. Several more countries have started discussions with the EU and steps are regularly taken to improve forest governance and end illegal logging.
When done well, VPAs are transparent and inclusive, allowing different groups – from the government, the private sector, civil society and forest communities – to discuss and agree on forest management. They are the only trade agreements that champion such a bold and innovative approach – a real model of multi-stakeholder governance.
There have, however, been problems along the way including lack of EUTR enforcement, and a lack of Member State support meaning that some countries’ policies give preferential treatment to certified rather than FLEGT-licensed timber. There have also been critiques that VPA implementation and negotiating phases have taken too long to solve the urgent problem of illegal logging.