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The UK’s Forest Law
Enforcement and Governance Programme
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What is it?
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The UK’s Forest
Law Enforcement and Governance Programme – launched in October 2002 – aims to
facilitate reforms by national, regional and international institutions to address
the problem of illegal logging and international trade in illegally harvested timber.
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Why is it needed?
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Illegal logging
– harvesting and transport of timber in contravention of a country’s laws –
occurs mainly in developing countries.
It costs governments billions of pounds annually in lost revenue,
dwarfing development assistance to many timber-producing countries and
leaving less to spend on services such as health and education.
Illegal logging
also undermines the ability of rural communities engaged in small-scale
forestry to make a living through unfair competition and depleting resources
on which they depend. It also has
environmental effects – exacerbating the impacts of floods and droughts and
degrading biodiversity – and it erodes formal governance mechanisms,
sometimes feeding regional and trans-boundary conflicts.
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How is it co-ordinated?
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The UK’s
programme is guided by policy and coordination mechanisms provided by an Interdepartmental
Working Group on Illegal Logging chaired by Ministers of the Department for
International Development (DFID) and the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra). It is also
given direction from an International Group of Forestry Officials from
central government and the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland
and Wales, as well as
regular meetings between government officials and representatives of the UK timber
trade and NGOs.
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Following an
initial 3-year programme, continued government support has been assured with
the announcement on 20 January 2006 by Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary
Undersecretary of State for International Development, of new DFID funding of
£24 million over a five-year period.
This will aim primarily to support implementation of Voluntary
Partnership Agreements under the EU’s Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEGT) Action Plan.
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Defra plays a
leading role in implementing the UK Government’s timber procurement policy
and co-ordinates UK
inputs to related EU policy, while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office leads
on inter-government relations and also supports relevant activities,
including initiatives under one of the Government’s Sustainable Development Dialogues.
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What are the main activities?
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The causes of illegal
logging – linked to poverty, corruption and failures of governance and
markets – are complex. There is no
single solution and effective control requires the simultaneous
implementation of supply and demand side measures in and between those
countries that produce timber and those that import it. The programme aims to contribute to a
better understanding of the causes and to secure co-operation from a wide
range of actors in developing and implementing solutions.
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Follow the links
below to learn more.
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Improved
understanding of causes, scale and solutions – whilst it is
generally accepted that illegal logging is widespread, and that it has
serious negative impacts on national economies, data that allow accurate determination
of its scale or effects remain limited.
The programme aims to provide better information so that actions to
tackle illegal logging can be focussed where their impacts are likely to be
greatest. More…
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Effective
communication and advocacy – success in tackling illegal logging
requires strong political will and a firm commitment to take actions at the
highest level of government and in the private sector. This can be most effective if there is
transparent collaboration with civil society. The programme seeks to consult widely
with stakeholders, and to secure and maintain government and industry
commitment to seek workable solutions.
More…
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Coherent UK, EU and
G8 policy and regulatory frameworks – together the countries of
the EU and G8 account for the bulk of forest products consumption. This makes it likely that a significant
proportion of their wood imports originates from illegal logging
activities; but it also creates opportunities for these countries to exert
influence in a way that favours legal production and trade. G8 and EU countries are also major donors
and can contribute to assisting regulatory reforms and development of
improved enforcement solutions in producer countries. The programme aims to promote
co-ordination between the UK,
the EU and the G8 countries in tackling the problem. More…
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Effective tools
and systems for monitoring and enforcement – a wide range of
tools and systems can be used to control and monitor extraction, transport,
processing and trade in natural resources.
Many are directly applicable to controlling illegal logging and its
associated trade and some are already being used successfully. In order to prescribe the most
appropriate combination of solutions there is a need to better understand
their potentials and limitations and also to learn from past successes and
failures. More…
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Regional policy
processes that support regulatory reforms – actions to combat
illegal logging taken at national level, or through bilateral agreements
between countries, need to be reinforced by regional processes that involve
both timber producing and consuming countries. Regional coalitions also provide forums
for sharing of information on the effectiveness of different
initiatives. More…
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Last
updated 15 May 2006
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