Govt to define ‘legal timber' for entry into export markets
Govt to define ‘legal timber' for entry into export markets
The government is working with its partners to refine the technicalities and regulations governing timber legality, in an effort to help ensure good forest governance in Laos.
The most recent discussions took place as part of an initiative led by the Lao government and other stakeholders in the Lao EU-FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade) process.
The multi-stakeholder Technical Working Group of the Lao EU-FLEGT process discussed the draft timber legality definition yesterday as part of preparations for the first face-to-face FLEGT/VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) negotiations between Laos and the European Union (EU), scheduled for the last quarter of 2016.
“Having a concrete definition on what is legal timber is crucial for Laos as it acts as an ‘entry ticket' to generate and comply with new export opportunities in the Asean Economic Community and other export markets, such as Europe, the US, China, Asean, Australia, Japan and South Korea, requesting legally verified timber,” Director General of the Department of Forest Inspection, MrKhamphoutPhandanouvong, said.
MrKhamphout said that once ‘legal timber' is defined, the next milestone is to enhance the competitiveness of the Lao timber industry through the improvement of the sustainable supply of raw materials.
This includes improved qualifications of staff and workers in the wood processing industry and access to markets and product information for each individual company.
An international expert at the EU FLEGT Facility – European Forest Institute, MrMr Tim Dawson, said a well-defined description of what leg al timber is would be beneficial to a range of stakeholders, from local communities to the private sector and related government agencies.
He added that forest-dependent communities in Laos should have greater clarity regarding their rights to access resources in areas as allowed and managed by the government.
Meanwhile, company owners, especially in the timber processing, furniture and handicraft industries, should have greater certainty about the legality of the supply of raw materials.
For the first face-to-face FLEGT/VPA negotiations between Laos and the EU, the first proposed general structure of the Timber Legality Definition to be brought forward will be a tentative definition of legality standards for natural production forests.
Other areas to be defined include concession areas; plantations; village forests; confiscated timber; imported timber; labour laws and regulations; wood processing regulations; and transport, trade and exports.
Of the total of nine legality standards, each will have their own principles, criteria, indicators and verifiers.
