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The first CCA meeting marked the official start of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Honduras and the European UnionSebastiaan de Smedt, European Forest Institute

The EU and Honduras begin implementing their agreement to combat illegal logging at their first meeting

On 12 September 2022, the first meeting of the Joint Implementation Committee (CCA by its Spanish acronym) was held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras to start overseeing the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT).

During the meeting the EU and Honduras signed the first act of the Aide Memoire of the CCA. This marked the official start of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement.

The first CCA meeting marked the official start of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Honduras and the European Union
The first CCA meeting marked the official start of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Honduras and the European Union. Source: Sebastiaan de Smedt, European Forest Institute

The CCA also agreed to prioritise actions that will yield concrete results in the short term. This includes the development and implementation of a robust traceability system for the transport of timber. With the help of technology it will be possible to address the falsification of transport documents. The CCA also agreed to accelerate the development and implementation of simplified procedures for the approval of forest management plans and the harvest of forest products.

The proceedings of the meeting are available publicly in the Aide Memoire (in Spanish).

The CCA oversees the VPA and is co-chaired by the National Institute for Forest Conservation and Development, Protected Areas and Wildlife and the European Union. The CCA includes the participation of various Government ministries and institutions, the private sector, including small forest owners, civil society organizations, indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, and donor partners that support the implementation of the agreement.

The first CCA meeting marked the official start of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Honduras and the European UnionSebastiaan de Smedt, European Forest Institute

La UE y Honduras inician la implementación de un Acuerdo para combatir la tala ilegal

El 12 de septiembre de 2022 tuvo lugar en Tegucigalpa la reunión inicial del Comité Conjunto de Aplicación (CCA) para la implementación del Acuerdo Voluntario de Asociación (AVA) entre Honduras y la UE para la Aplicación de las Leyes, Gobernanza y Comercio Forestales (FLEGT por sus siglas en inglés).

Durante la reunión, la UE y Honduras firmaron la primera acta del memorando del CCA. Esta firma representa el inicio oficial de la implementación del AVA-FLEGT.

The first CCA meeting marked the official start of the implementation of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Honduras and the European Union
La primera reunión del CCA marcó el inicio oficial de la implementación del Acuerdo Voluntario de Asociación entre Honduras y la Unión Europea. Fuente: Sebastiaan de Smedt, European Forest Institute

El CCA acordó priorizar acciones con resultados concretos a corto plazo. Esto incluye el desarrollo e implementación de un sistema de trazabilidad para el transporte de madera. La ayuda de la tecnología permitirá hacer frente de manera eficaz a la falsificación de la documentación de transporte. El CCA también acordó acelerar el desarrollo e implementación de procedimientos simplificados para la aprobación de planes de manejo forestal y la recolección de productos forestales.

El acta de la reunión está disponible públicamente en el memorando.

El CCA supervisa el AVA-FLEGT y está copresidido por el Instituto Nacional de Conservación y Desarrollo Forestal, Áreas Protegidas y Vida Silvestre y la Unión Europea. Incluye además representantes de varios ministerios e instituciones gubernamentales, el sector privado, incluidos pequeños propietarios forestales, organizaciones de la sociedad civil, pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes y socios donantes que apoyan la implementación del Acuerdo.

A sawmill in HondurasVPA Africa-Latin America Facility

The Honduras-EU agreement to reduce illegal logging enters into force

The objective of the VPA is to provide a legally binding framework to ensure that all EU imports of timber products from Honduras covered by this agreement are sourced legally. The VPA also aims at improving community forest livelihoods, mitigating climate change impacts, and recognising the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

In the negotiation phase, different groups of interest were consulted, including the representatives of the government, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and afro-descendant peoples. The Honduras voluntary partnership agreement is the first-ever in which indigenous peoples have had their say, looking into issues such as land tenure and rights.

A sawmill in Honduras
A sawmill in Honduras. Source: VPA Africa-Latin America Facility

Honduras will now start the implementation of the VPA, where the full and active involvement of all stakeholders will continue through the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC), the body overseeing the VPA. One of the first steps is setting up a timber legality assurance system to assess that timber products have been legally produced at all stages of the supply chain in accordance with national legislation.

More information:

A sawmill in HondurasVPA Africa-Latin America Facility

Entra en vigor el acuerdo entre Honduras y la UE para reducir la tala ilegal

El objetivo del AVA es proporcionar un marco legalmente vinculante para garantizar que toda la madera y productos derivados de la misma, provenientes del país socio exportador, y cuyo destino es el mercado de la UE; cumple con la legislación del país de origen.

El AVA también tiene como objetivo mejorar los medios de vida de los bosques comunitarios, mitigar los impactos del cambio climático y reconocer el derecho al consentimiento libre, previo e informado.

En la fase de negociación se consultó a diferentes grupos de interés, incluidos los representantes del gobierno, la sociedad civil, el sector privado y los pueblos indígenas y afrodescendientes. En este sentido, el AVA de Honduras es el primero en el que los pueblos indígenas han expresado su opinión, analizando temas como los derechos sobre la tenencia de la tierra.

A sawmill in Honduras
Aserradero en Honduras. Fuente: VPA Africa-Latin America Facility

Honduras comenzará ahora la implementación del AVA, donde la participación plena y activa de todas las partes interesadas continuará a través del Comité Conjunto de Aplicación (CCA), el organismo que supervisa el AVA. Uno de los primeros pasos es establecer el Sistema de Aseguramiento de la Legalidad de Honduras (SALH) para garantizar que los productos de madera se hayan producido legalmente en todas las etapas de la cadena de suministro, de conformidad con la legislación nacional.

Más información:

Indigenous lenca woman. Monte Panina, Intibucá, Honduras.

Indigenous voices central in Honduras timber agreement

In the lead up to the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the European Forest Institute (EFI) has released a story describing the experience of indigenous peoples in the negotiation of the EU-Honduras Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA). The agreement is reshaping the way forests are managed in Honduras.

Honduras and the European Union committed in 2013 to working together and addressing illegal logging and trade. The VPA was negotiated to improve overall governance in the forest sector, and to ensure wood sold domestically and exported from Honduras comes from legal sources. The agreement has now been ratified by the Honduran congress and by the EU.

Indigenous lenca woman. Monte Panina, Intibucá, Honduras.
Indigenous lenca woman. Monte Panina, Intibucá, Honduras.

From the outset, VPA negotiations in Honduras included representatives from indigenous communities along with the Government, private sector, and civil society organisations.

Rosario García, president of the National Lenca Indigenous Organisation (ONIL) and coordinator of the Roundtable for the Unity of Lenca Indigenous People (MUPIL), describes the VPA as an opportunity to deal with historic, entrenched problems indigenous peoples have struggled with.

Carmen Borjas, who represents small and medium forest owners, says the VPA has been ratified with an unparalleled level of consensus, with forest owners now paying full attention to what indigenous groups have to say.

Read the story:

Indigenous lenca woman. Monte Panina, Intibucá, Honduras.

Las voces indígenas, protagonistas de un acuerdo sobre la madera en Honduras

En las jornadas previas al Día Internacional de los Pueblos Indígenas del Mundo, el Instituto Forestal Europeo (EFI) ha publicado una historia que describe la experiencia de los pueblos indígenas en la negociación del Acuerdo Voluntario de Asociación (AVA) entre la UE y Honduras. El acuerdo reconfigura la manera en que se gestionan los bosques en Honduras.

En 2013, Honduras y la Unión Europea se comprometieron a trabajar juntos y abordar el problema de la tala y el comercio ilegales de madera. Las negociaciones del AVA buscaban mejorar la gobernanza del sector forestal y garantizar que la madera vendida en el mercado hondureño o exportada a la UE u otros destinos tenga un origen legal. El AVA ya ha sido ratificado por el congreso de Honduras y la UE.

Indigenous lenca woman. Monte Panina, Intibucá, Honduras.
Mujer indígena lenca. Monte Panina, Intibucá, Honduras.

Desde su inicio, las negociaciones incluyeron a representantes de las comunidades indígenas, del Gobierno, del sector privado y de distintas organizaciones de la sociedad civil.

Rosario García, presidenta de la Organización Nacional Indígena Lenca (ONIL) y coordinadora de la Mesa de Unidad del Pueblo Indígena Lenca (MUPIL), sostiene que el AVA representa una gran oportunidad para afrontar los problemas estructurales con los que históricamente han tenido que lidiar los pueblos indígenas.

Carmen Borjas, representante de los pequeños y medianos dueños de bosques, sostiene que el AVA se ratificó con un nivel de consenso sin precedentes, en un proceso en el que los propietarios forestales prestaron gran atención a lo que los grupos indígenas tienen que decir.

Lea la historia:

EU and Honduras ratify agreement on illegal logging and trade in legal timber

The EU and Honduras have ratified a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade, to address illegal logging and promote trade in legal timber products.

Implementation of the VPA will take several years, during which Honduras will develop a timber legality assurance system to ensure that its timber and timber products come from legal sources and comply with relevant laws relating to importation, exportation, harvesting, processing and trade.

Implementation of the VPA will entail introducing systems and procedures to assure that businesses in Honduras only use domestic timber or import timber that has been harvested and traded in accordance with relevant legislation in the country of harvest. This will prevent illegally-harvested timber, and businesses trading it, from taking part in supply chains regulated by the timber legality assurance system.

An EU-Honduras Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) will oversee how the provisions of the Agreement are put into practice.

Once the VPA has been fully implemented, and a joint assessment by the EU and Honduras confirms this, the parties will set a date from which Honduras will issue FLEGT licences to its EU-bound exports of verified legal timber products.

FLEGT-licensed products will automatically meet the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation, which prohibits the placing of illegal timber on the EU market. 

Until FLEGT licensing starts, imports into the EU from Honduras will continue to be subject to the due diligence requirements of the EU Timber Regulation aimed at ensuring that the risk of placing illegal products on the Union market is negligible.

European Commissioner for international partnerships Jutta Urpilainen (left) and the Ambassador of Honduras Roberto Ochoa Madrid (right) signing the Honduras-EU VPA.

La Unión Europea y Honduras acuerdan combatir la tala ilegal y promover el comercio de madera legal

Read in English

Honduras y la Unión Europea (UE) firman un acuerdo sobre la aplicación de leyes, gobernanza y comercio forestales. El acuerdo garantizará que toda la madera y productos derivados hondureños importados a la UE tengan un origen legal y dispongan de autorización.

La comisaria europea de Asociaciones Internacionales, Jutta Urpilainen (izquierda), y el embajador de Honduras, Roberto Ochoa Madrid (derecha) firmando el AVA.

El acuerdo voluntario de asociación (AVA) fue firmado el 23 de febrero por el embajador de Portugal, Nuno Brito, la comisaria europea de Asociaciones Internacionales, Jutta Urpilainen, y el embajador de Honduras, Roberto Ochoa Madrid. Entrará en vigor cuando ambas partes lo hayan ratificado de acuerdo con sus procedimientos internos.

Honduras es el primer país latinoamericano en firmar un acuerdo voluntario de asociación con la UE en el marco del Plan de Acción para la Aplicación de Leyes, Gobernanza y Comercio Forestales (FLEGT, por sus siglas en inglés).

Según establece el acuerdo, Honduras pondrá en marcha mecanismos sólidos para garantizar que la madera producida en el país se obtenga legalmente. De este modo, se creará un sistema de seguimiento de la legalidad que permita evaluar la producción de madera en Honduras con criterios similares a los establecidos en el Reglamento de la madera de la UE.

Este proceso favorece las metas comerciales y de desarrollo sostenible de la UE y contribuirá al objetivo más amplio de reducir la tala ilegal.

European Commissioner for international partnerships Jutta Urpilainen (left) and the Ambassador of Honduras Roberto Ochoa Madrid (right) signing the Honduras-EU VPA.

EU and Honduras agree deal to combat illegal logging, promote trade in legal timber

Leer en español

Honduras and the European Union (EU) have reached an agreement on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products. The agreement will ensure that all Honduran timber and timber products imported in the EU are legally sourced and licensed.

European Commissioner for international partnerships Jutta Urpilainen (left) and the Ambassador of Honduras Roberto Ochoa Madrid (right) signing the Honduras-EU VPA.
European Commissioner for international partnerships Jutta Urpilainen (left) and the Ambassador of Honduras Roberto Ochoa Madrid (right) signing the Honduras-EU VPA.

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) was signed on 23 February by the Portuguese Ambassador Nuno Brito, European Commissioner for international partnerships Jutta Urpilainen and the Ambassador of Honduras Roberto Ochoa Madrid. It will enter into force after each Party has ratified it in line with their internal procedures.

Honduras is the first Latin American country to sign a voluntary partnership agreement with the EU under the Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

As per the agreement, Honduras will develop robust mechanisms to ensure locally produced timber is legally obtained. A timber legality assurance system will be set up to assess Honduran timber logging with requirements similar to the ones set in the EU Timber Regulation.

This process enhances the EU’s sustainable development and trade goals and will contribute to the broader objective of reducing illegal logging.

About the VPA Africa – Latin America Facility

The VPA Africa – Latin America Facility supports the implementation of the EU FLEGT Action Plan with a focus on Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs). The Facility contributes to combating illegal logging and strengthening forest governance while encouraging sustainable economic development in countries that produce or process timber and export to the EU. The Facility is hosted by the European Forest Institute (EFI) and was established in November 2019.

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