Language Selection
RIL Newsletter
PHOTO ALBUMS
From the PRESS
Popular Articles
EU and Indonesia ink ambitious sustainable logging deal
Rabu, 04 Mei 2011 14:28
EU and Indonesia ink ambitious sustainable logging deal
European Commission signs first Asian Voluntary Partnership Agreement to promote legal and sustainable timber
By BusinessGreen staff
04 May 2011
The European Commission and Indonesian government will today sign a landmark agreement aimed at tackling illegal logging in the south east Asian country that stands accused of damaging valuable rainforest habitats and carbon sinks while costing the government billions of dollars in lost revenue.
The Commission will announce a new bilateral agreement under the 2003 Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan, which is designed to promote sustainable forestry by stemming the flow of illegally harvested timber from Indonesia to Europe.
The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) will commit the EU and Indonesia to trading only legal timber, and is backed by a new Indonesian system for verifying the legality of timber exports. The Commission and EU member states have said they will provide support to help implement the new system.
Formal negotiations first started with Indonesia in 2007 and the agreement is now expected to take about nine months to be ratified.
The EU has already signed VPAs with Ghana, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, but today's agreement is the first to be signed in Asia.
It has also been hailed as the most ambitious VPA to date, as Indonesia is the largest timber exporter to complete negotiations.
The European Forest Institute said that deforestation in Indonesia over the past 50 years has meant the country has moved from being 82 per cent forested to just 49 per cent. Environmental groups claim the level of deforestation has led to massive social problems, environmental degradation, and a loss of economic opportunities for the country.
Indonesia is the third-largest tropical forest nation and the largest emitter of greenhouse gases from deforestation. Some estimates show illegally harvested timber comprises around 50 per cent of wood products Indonesia exports every year, worth about $9bn.
The Indonesian government has boosted efforts to combat illegal logging, a recent Chatham House study reporting that log smuggling from Indonesia to China has fallen by 92 per cent since 2004. Illegal logging in Indonesia was shown to have dropped 75 per cent in the past decade, although 40 per cent of timber production remains illegal.
Indonesian Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan is today expected to hail the agreement as a significant breakthrough that marks the culmination of four years of negotiations.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht will also congratulate Indonesia for being the largest timber exporter to enter a VPA, and for becoming the first Asian country to conclude such negotiations.
However, green groups have offered the agreement a more cautious welcome.
Telapak, an Indonesian civil society group which has been involved in the VPA process since 2003, said success would rest on the quality and transparency of the auditing system, and whether penalties for those found to be exporting illegal timber are sufficiently robust.
Similarly, Faith Doherty, team leader of the Environmental Investigation Agency Forest Campaign, hailed the VPA as a huge blow to the timber barons, but warned the agreement would only succeed alongside rigorous efforts to stamp out corruption.
"The core issue at the heart of illegal logging and the illegal trade has always been corruption, and credible transparency is the key to this VPA's success," she said.
Andre De Boer, secretary general for European Timber Trade Federation, said the VPA will make it easier for companies to ensure the legality of products they buy from Indonesia.
"This regulation will support our quest for a level playing field in the market, encouraging buyers to purchase legal and sustainable timber, and therefore supporting producers who act responsibly," he said.
http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2047073/eu-indonesia-ink-ambitious-sustainable-logging-deal
| < Sebelumnya | Berikutnya > |
|---|