EU countries are failing to regulate, reduce imports of unsustainable timber, WWF survey claims; nine countries have yet to implement measures for legislation effective March 3, 2013

Wendy Lisney

GODALMING, England , February 15, 2012 (press release) – EU countries are not doing enough to stem the flow of illegal and unsustainable timber or regulating its sale, despite the upcoming introduction of two pieces of legislation to halt its import, according to a survey by WWF.

The survey found the highest scorers with 12 points (out of max 18 points) respectively were Germany, the Netherlands and the UK. The UK has been the most consistent high scorer on performance, but has become one of the slowest in terms of improving its performance.

So far only four countries are ready to receive licensed timber, under the FLEGT Regulation, which came into force in 2005. And as many as nine countries have still to put in place any of the necessary implementing measures for the EU Timber Regulation, which is due to be implemented on March 3rd, 2013.

Beatrix Richards, head of Forest Policy and Trade at WWF UK, said: “Overall the study shows that EU Member States will have a busy year if they’re going to ensure that these two key pieces of legislation are in place to exclude illegal timber.“

Only seven countries are making good progress in ensuring that all public institutions buy only legal and sustainable timber and wood products. As many as 11 countries still have no such policy in place at all, despite having illegal timber in their supply chains, and monitoring of the quality of implementation is very weak. The idea of using public procurement policy to drive demand for sustainably produced timber arose out of the Rio Summit in 1992 and the Agenda 21 Initiative.

Comparable scores over the course of the barometer surveys (2004-2012) show that Belgium, France and Slovenia are the most improved. The weakest performers overall in 2012, scoring two points or less, out of a total possible score of 18, were Estonia, Finland, Greece Italy, Slovakia and Spain.

One of the flagship actions by the EU is working with tropical countries to enter into voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs) which will permit licensed timber from these countries to enter the EU both under the FLEGT regulation and the EU Timber Regulation. Only six EU countries are currently proactively engaged in supporting this.

Unless EU governments do more, wood products sold across the EU could still be undermining social infrastructure and devastating natural habitats in areas of Indonesia and the Congo Basin. Illegal and unsustainable logging impacts on communities and species, such as the orang-utan and gorilla, whilst also making a significant contribution to climate change.

Beatrix Richards added: “Legislation to ensure legality will only do so much. People need to continue to drive demand for sustainable forest management by buying timber certified through credible certifications schemes such as the Forestry Stewardship Council® (FSC®) to ensure both legality and responsible management. This will help to ensure that what they are buying is not destroying people’s livelihoods and biodiversity.”

ENDS

Notes to editor
WWF is one of the world's largest independent conservation organisations, with more than five million supporters and a global network active in more than 100 countries. We're working to create solutions to the most serious environmental issues facing our planet, so that people and nature can thrive. Through our engagement with the public, businesses and government, we focus on safeguarding the natural world, tacking climate change and changing the way we live. www.wwf.org.uk

The first WWF Government Barometer on illegal logging and trade was carried out in early 2004, as a means of gauging EU Member State governments' commitment to implementing the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) Action Plan agreed in 2003. This is now the 5th edition after a four year break. It assesses progress on three measures set out in the EU FLEGT Action plan: the FLEGT Regulation (which facilitates the import of licensed timber from producer countries which have negotiated a Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with the EU), development co-operation focused at addressing illegal logging in producer countries (through the VPA negotiations) and green public procurement. It also assesses progress on a fourth separate measure, the EU Timber regulation (EUTR) which came about as a result of the FLEGT action plan.

In 2012, the Barometer has focused on measuring EU Member States' support of these four measures. Comparable assessment over all five Government Barometers is possible for cross departmental collaboration, public procurement and support for the VPA process. New to the 2012 survey are questions relating to progress on the implementation of the FLEGT Regulation (which needs to be in place before VPA licensed timber can enter the EU) and the EUTR, which will come into force in March 2013. Each EU Member State has been measured against a maximum score of 18.

The WWF Government Barometer report was published as part of WWF’s ‘What Wood You Choose?’ campaign. For more information on this and for a copy of the report visit:
wwf.org.uk/whatwoodyouchoose

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