What's the problem with illegal logging?
Illegal logging is a global problem. It damages forests, devastates communities and wildlife, aggravates climate change, and keeps forested countries locked in cycles of poverty and corruption. Interpol estimates that governments lose around US$50-150 billion annually in tax revenue from illegal logging alone.
Yet there are still not strong enough measures to ensure consumers and companies don’t unwittingly buy illegal timber and wood-based products.
Since this is a complex problem, solutions must be multifaceted. Addressing illegal logging means dealing with corruption, lack of clarity over land rights, and the excessive influence of the timber industry over forest policies and legislation.
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.
What’s next?
The EU has now broadened its focus, looking at how to protect forests from products other than timber. In December 2022, the EU adopted the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR) to tackle the global deforestation and forest degradation that is driven by EU consumption and production of forest risk commodities, including timber. The EUDR entered into implementation in 2023 and is also applicable to EU forests. Click here to read more.
National NGOs and civil society welcomed the new policy but criticised the EU for failing to learn from VPAs and undertake meaningful consultation on how to best design legislation and support measures. Fern has produced a discussion paper looking at how the EUDR and FLEGT can learn from each other.
There are also concerns that if the EU cleans up its supply chains, illegal timber will still be exported to other major importers such as China or the United States. In response a number of timber producing countries have formed the Broader Market Recognition Coalition to incentivise sustainable tropical forest management.
Fern is continuing to work on FLEGT
In some timber producing countries Fern and our partners continue to see VPAs as a good tool to improve governance, accountability and transparency in the forest sector by strengthening the rights and livelihoods of local communities.
The FLEGT process has taught us that the success of national or EU legislative policy relies on an inclusive and multi-stakeholder approach. Consulting and involving civil society, small farmers or foresters, Indigenous Peoples, and forest communities, who know best how to protect forests and their rights, is crucial. Our partners work with their national governments and builds relationships with communities on the ground. Fern continues to research how the EUDR can build on VPAs, keep civil society informed about developments and open space for NGO discussions with policy makers.
What does illegal logging mean?
Illegal logging is when trees are cut down and timber is harvested, transported and traded in violation of the laws of the producer country. For example, illegal logging can occur when harvesting is done without permission or within protected areas, when protected species are cut or there are fraudulent customs declarations or tax avoidance.
What is FLEGT?
FLEGT stands for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade. Established in 2003, the FLEGT Action Plan is the EU’s flagship attempt to tackle the root causes of illegal logging.
FLEGT sets out a series of measures, including the EU Timber Regulation requiring companies to verify the legality of any timber products they export to the EU. One of the key elements is Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) - trade deals between the EU and a timber producing country. VPAs bring local governments, private sector and civil society together to develop a system of FLEGT licenses guaranteeing the legality of the timber sold in the country. The development of a licensing system is an opportunity for stakeholders to identify and resolve policy issues that are driving illegal logging in their country—such as unclear tenure rights, opaque land allocation decisions and corruption.
FLEGT VPAs are negotiated in a way that ensures wood being sold in the EU is legally sourced. They aim to be transparent, accountable and sustainable and support forest communities.
Legal forest use, when based on laws that are environmentally sound and socially just, can ensure environmental protection whilst providing livelihoods to some of the world’s poorest peoples.
What happened to FLEGT licenses under the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products?
Under the Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), FLEGT licenses will be accepted as proof of legality, but not as proof that the item is deforestation-free. Although FLEGT-licensed timber therefore automatically qualify as legal, it will not be given green lane access, meaning that operators would still have to do due diligence to ensure the timber is deforestation-free.
