New report highlights the importance of Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring’s contribution to the SVLK

The Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring Network Jaringan Pemantau Independen Kehutanan (JPIK) has published a report entitled “Assessing Compliance of Timber Forest Product Utilization and Trade Permit Holders”. The report captures the results of Independent Forest Monitoring activities carried out in eight Provinces in Indonesia, supported by the FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme.

Independent monitoring, the process by which civil society assesses the compliance of logging companies with timber legality standards, is an integral part of Indonesia’s Timber Legality Assurance System, or Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu (SVLK). JPIK expanded the network of independent forest monitors by training 58 Indigenous and local community members on how to conduct monitoring activities, write reports of the findings and create follow up plans. Putting this training to practice, the community members were instrumental in selecting critical areas and segments of the timber supply chain to be monitored, based on their in-depth knowledge of the forest.

The resulting report found a number of violations such as the illegal processing of certain timber species and timber extraction outside concessions boundaries, tax evasions on timber extraction, fraudulent practices in the issuance of timber product utilization permits and non-compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.

The report has so far resulted in several police investigations and a number of corrective actions being put in place. These are a testament to the critical role that independent monitoring plays in Indonesia and the commitment of law enforcement agencies such as The Ministry of Environment and Forestry and certification bodies to improving forest governance.

To find out more read the full web story here: http://www.fao.org/in-action/eu-fao-flegt-programme/news-events/news-de…