Laos, EU giving illegal timber trade the chop
Laos, EU giving illegal timber trade the chop
Laos and the European Union (EU) are exploring ways to jointly stop the trade in illegal timber to ensure Lao wood exporters and customers in Europe comply with the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR).
European diplomats and local media, led by EU Charge' d'Affaires, Mr Michel Goffin, yesterday visited Lao Furniture KM5 Company, one of many Lao companies that exports wood to the EU, to highlight this two year old regulation which prohibits the placing of illegally harvested timber on the European market.
The European market for wooden furniture is one of the world's largest, representing 23 billion Euros per year, 15-20 percent of which is imported.
President of Lao Furniture Industry Group Mr Thongsavanh Soulignamat said they realised the importance of the EU policy that prohibited illegal timber imports to that market as other countries were adopting similar measures for their markets as well.
“We make sure that our customers have all the information they request for their EUTR compliance.”
“We will have systems in place that allow our customers in the European Union to have confidence in the legality of the timber products that we provide them with,” he said.
Mr Thongsavanh said the local industry understood that the illegal logging and wood trade impacted both economically and environmentally in wood exporting countries.
In particular, illegal logging and wood trading had a huge impact on Laos. For example, it lowered the price of Lao wood on the world market, the government lost a huge amount of revenue, and the timber industry sector lost opportunities to develop because they were unable to compete with illegal loggers, he explained.
“The most serious issues are that it breaks Lao law and the country's image will be damaged on an international stage as well,” Mr Thongsavanh said.
The timber industry sector is al so attempting to join with the government to take part in the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) negotiation with the EU.
“This process is very important for not only government but also the private sector because it will give us more trading opportunities on the world market,” he said.
Mr Thongsavanh believed the government would be able to lead the private sector to conclude VPAs negotiation so that the wood industry coul d continue to develop in Laos.
The EUTR is one of the tools of the EU's Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan which aims to halt the trade in illegal timber. The EU, recognising its responsibility as a timber consumer, prohibited the placement of illegal timber on the EU market with the introduction of the EUTR in March 2013.
Under the FLEGT Action Plan, the EU also started a voluntary scheme to ensure that only legally harvested timber is imported into the EU from countries agreeing to take part in this scheme.
The EU started negotiating bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with timber exporting countries from around the world. In Laos the German government supports the FLEGT process and the VPA negotiations with 5.8 million Eeuro through the Pro-FLEGT programme.
“The VPA is a supply-side measure, supporting countries like Laos to address forest sector challenges,” Michel Gof?n said.
“VPAs try to address c hallenges facing the entire sector, and not just those related to exporting to the EU.”
