EU: stronger measures to combat illegal logging and trade in illicit timber

    EU: stronger measures to combat illegal logging and trade in illicit timber

    Combating illegal logging and the illicit trade in timber is the objective of the recent proposal to integrate the Community policy for the protection of the European Community's forests.

    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Combat illegal logging and the illicit trade in timber is the objective of the recent proposal to integrate the Community policy to protect forests. The motion for a strengthening of the measures already in place testifies to the insufficient effectiveness of the existing Community policy. Ineffectiveness manifested by a significant data, deforestation is still responsible for about 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions, more than the world total of emissions produced by the transport sector and it is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss on the planet.





    Illegality, that of deforestation, difficult to combat for two reasons:high demand for timber especially from countries such as China, Russia, Japan and the United States and the lack of strictness of the rules.

    For years, the EU has participated in and supported initiatives to protect the world's forest heritage such as the UN forum on forests and the International Organization for Tropical Wood. In these debates the theme of traceability, guaranteed by FlegT licenses for trade in the forest sector certifying compliance of timber with relevant national legislation is becoming increasingly important.

    And it is precisely on this last aspect that the European Parliament is evaluating the methods of intervention. It seems we need a legislative act, a regulation that establishes the obligations and duties of the operators in the sector to certify the origin of the wood.

    The marketing of timber and derived products on the Community market will have to be subject to specific obligations and defined principles such as principle of due diligence.

    Deterrent principle which, once approved, would put in place a specific system, that of due diligence, which would induce operators to not to place illegal timber on the Community market minimizing the uncertainty about the origin of the wood.


    A greater certainty about the origin of the timber, added to the FlegT license regional, would represent a factor of increasing consumer awareness who, indirectly, would be enabled to contribute to global initiatives against planetary deforestation by making conscious and ethical commercial choices.


    Serena Bianchi

    Photo: Greenpeace

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