The Republic of the Congo and the EU have released a joint report on progress in implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreement from January to December 2018.
The report describes progress made with the timber legality assurance system, institutional improvements, stakeholder engagement, communication, transparency and monitoring of the agreement.
En novembre 2018, un groupe de visiteurs du Laos s’est retrouvé dans une forêt au Libéria pour apprendre comment les fonctionnaires de l’administration forestière du pays suivent le bois tout au long de la chaîne d’approvisionnement. Quelques jours plus tard, ils ont fait de même au Ghana. Leurs visites – et celle d’une équipe de la République du Congo au Ghana – ont été effectuées dans le cadre d’accords commerciaux appelés Accords de partenariat volontaires (APV), conclus entre chacun des quatre pays et l’UE.
In November 2018, a group of visitors from Laos found themselves in a forest in Liberia, learning how the country’s forestry officials track timber through the supply chain. A few days later they got to do the same in Ghana. Their visits — and that of a team from Republic of the Congo to Ghana — were made in the context of trade deals called Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) that all four countries are engaged in with the EU.
Across Ghana, workers who cut down trees in forests, move timber from the forest to factories or process wood into finished goods can expect these and other improvements in the coming months. That’s because, as Ghana implements new systems for ensuring the legality of its timber and timber products, a spotlight is shining on worker safety like never before.
A quiet revolution has transformed Ghana’s forestry sector, laying the foundations for sustainable development, greater benefits for communities and improved access to international markets. A decade ago, much of the country’s timber was illegally-harvested. Law enforcement was weak and there was little accountability and transparency. Timber companies were defaulting on their legal obligations with respect to local communities.
Just over a decade ago, Liberia’s forest sector was synonymous with crime and conflict. President Charles Taylor had looted the country’s forests to fund two civil wars and further bloodshed across the border in Sierra Leone. Illegal logging was rife.
For small and medium enterprises in Cameroon’s forest sector, trade with the vast EU market is a prized target. But small companies often face big challenges. Growing market demands for assurances that timber and timber products are legal mean such companies must adapt.
There’s a paradox in Ghana. A hundred thousand chainsaw operators scattered across the country provide 72% of the lumber on the domestic market. They support livelihoods of about 650,000 people and inject much-needed cash into local economies. But every one of these chainsaw loggers is breaking the law.
The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is hosting the Conference of Ministers of ECCAS on the Fund for the Green Economy in Central Africa and the structural transformation of the economy of natural resources. The conference is titled ‘Diplomacy, integration, and governance and the new wood economy’ and will take place in Kinshasa from 27 to 30 October 2014.
The overall objective of the conference is to discuss the structural transformation of the natural resource economy in general and of timber and timber products in particular.
The conference is part of the implementation of the System of the Green Economy in Central Africa (SEVAC) of ECCAS and activities of the programme on fragile ecosystems of Central Africa (ECOFAC V) funded by the European Union.
The EU is using its regional programme ECOFAC 5, which focuses on fragile ecosystems, to promote FLEGT throughout the Economic Community of Central African States.
A regional FLEGT unit is in place to help facilitate and coordinate regional activities relating to VPA implementation (Cameroon, Central African Republic and Congo) or negotiations (Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon).
In April, a team of EFI experts helped establish a positive atmosphere of confidence and teamwork in the regional FLEGT unit. EFI offered support to guide and finalise the unit’s work plan for July 2013 to June 2015.
The activities planned concentrate on four main aspects:
Some activities for engaging the private sector are underway, with outcomes expected later this year.
European Forest Institute
Flore de Preneuf, PROFOR
VPA ALA Facility, EFI