Improving forest governance: A comparison of FLEGT VPAs and their impact

New analysis shows the EU leading efforts to improve forest governance

Ten years since the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Action Plan was launched, and one month before the introduction of the EU Timber Regulation which makes it a criminal offence to put illegally sourced timber on the EU market, new research by FERN has shown strong forest governance improvements have already been achieved.

The EU FLEGT Action Plan includes the development of voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs) with timber producing countries. International and national NGOs have been part of their design, and have helped ensure VPAs include essential principles of forest governance. FERN’s research shows these have been largely respected.

The idea behind VPAs is fairly simple, but the VPA documents themselves are not an easy read. FERN’s analysis has shown that every VPA concluded so far covers all exports (not just those to the EU), and all timber products. With the exception of the Central African Republic, all concluded VPAs also include the domestic market. This could have a large impact on local communities in these timber-producing countries. Most VPAs also include reforms concerning community forests, the domestic market, and to some extent improved recognition of customary rights.

One of the most startling findings was that all the VPAs concluded to date have been negotiated in a multi-stakeholder process involving representatives from local human rights and environmental organisations, the private sector and government. This is the first time that legally binding trade agreements have been negotiated and agreed in such an inclusive, consensus-based process. The process has therefore been perceived as empowering local civil society actors.

Despite the steps that have been taken so far, there are challenges ahead; in March 2013 the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) will come in to effect, and if this legislation is not effective in reducing illegal timber imports, producer countries may lose interest in a VPA. An Bollen explained “To ensure the EUTR and the FLEGT VPAs become mutually supportive, the EU and the Member States have to ensure a robust and effective implementation of the EUTR across all Member States. If illegal timber continues to be imported into the EU, the effectiveness of the VPAs will be undermined.”

Another challenge is that the forestry sector is being marginalised by the growth of agriculture and mining activities. This will limit the potential impact VPAs can have on improving governance. “We must learn from the VPAs and build on what works,” said Saskia Ozinga of FERN, “the next step is to research the extent to which the VPA model can be used for other commodities and in other sectors.”

The study is available at: www.fern.org/improvingforestgovernance