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JAKARTA, INDONESIA, Oct 1, 2013 - (ACN Newswire) - The Indonesian Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan, the European Commisioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik, and the Lithuanian Minister of Environment and the Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2013 Valentinas Mazuronis signed the Collaboration Agreement on the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT-VPA) on September 30 in Brussels, Belgium.
The FLEGT-VPA aims to stop the illegal logging activity and ensure that only the legal timber products that can be imported by the EU from Indonesia. Indonesia is Asia's first country and also the largest timber exporting country to sign and seal the FLEGT-VPA. The agreement is the pinnacle of the 6-year intensive and constructive negotiation that involved private, public and government sectors.
The agreement encompasses the timber licencing system exported from Indonesia to the EU's 28 member countries based on the timber legality verification system (SVLK) - Indonesia's timber legality assurance - and is the first system that is in line with the principles of FLEGT. Once the FLEGT-VPA is effective and the FLEGT licence is issued, Indonesian timber products will meet the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) No. 995/2010 that forbids the placement and the distribution of illegal logging in the EU markets. Additionally, the EU's timber industry players are not necessary to conduct due dilligence on the FLEGT-licenced timber products.
The Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hasan said that the Agreement is a groundbreaking, strategic partnership between the producing and consuming countries, particularly between Indonesia and EU in eradicating the illegal logging. "This Agreement represents that both parties shows no mercy to illegal logging. In addition, this becomes a milestone for the world to promote the timber trade with legal certification assurance," conveyed the Minister.
The European Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik added, "I am very ecstatic that the EU and Indonesia have joined forces to eradicate illegal logging. This Agreement gives a positive impact to the environment and pioneers a responsible business activity, which in the end of the day, it will make a better assurance for consumers to buy Indonesian timber."
The Lithuanian Minister of Environment Valentinas Mazuronis said that the EU Presidency welcomes the Agreement because it will mark a milestone in a new relationship phase between Indonesia and the EU.
The Agreement brings Indonesia and EU to the respective ratification process to facilitate the complete execution of the FLEGT-VPA once both parties have approved the FLEGT licencing scheme.
About The Indonesian Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK)
SVLK is mandatory to the Indonesian forestry business unit (FBU) and logging industry. The FBU has to be firstly verified by the accredited independent third party by using the multi-stakeholding legality standard through the good forestry governance. The SVLK encompasses the timber logging or harvest, transport, process, and the trading as well as the environment and the workers' rights aspects verified by the related law and regulation.
The V-Legal Document issuance is meant to ensure that the timber product export meets the Indonesian forestry law and regulation, comes from the legal source, and is legally cut, transported, processed, and traded. Built to eradicate the illegal logging and protect the forestry industry, from upstream to downstream, the SVLK aims to enhance the competitiveness of the Indonesian timber in the global market, to improve the people's welfare, to develop the habit of using the legal timber products, and to accelerate the realization of the sustainable forest management (SFM). The SVLK establishment took a long, exhausted process, and is the initiative developed by Indonesia to face the global challenges on the more responsible natural resources utilization.
The Regulation of The Ministry of Trade No. 64/2012 on October 22, 2012 replacing the Regulation No. 20/2008 on regulating the timber export and timber products. According to the Regulation, the Indonesian timber product export has to be completed with the V-Legal Document. meanwhile, the regulation on the timber import and timber products in line with the SVLK is being composed.
V-Legal Document-completed export licencing scheme has already been implemented since January 1, 2013, covering 26 tariff posts. Since 2010, there are 20 million acres of forests and more than 700 logging industry units that already received SVLK certification, while the verification will still be developed to the other 14 tariff posts, including the furniture industry.
Since 2010, more than 700 logging business units, including the SME, have already been verified, and only 23 among them failed to pass the verification. There are more than 20 million acres (286 forestry business units spanning of natural forest, plantation forest, and owned forest) have already been certified and even some of them are awarded the sustainable forest management certificate.
The FLEGT-VPA is legally mandatory to both parties in order to ensure that the EU markets only import the legally certified Indonesian timber products. Built on that fact, the periodic monitoring and evaluating mechanism was also established.
About FLEGT-VPA
The essential elements of the FLEGT-VPA action plan is the collaboration scheme to ensure that only legal timber can be imported by EU. This legal basis is the regulation applied on December 2005 and the 2008 Implementation Regulation that enable the controlling authority on the timber products imported by EU from the FLEGT-VPA partner countries.
For more detailed information, please refer to:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/flegt.htm and
http://www.euflegt.efi.int/files/attachments/euflegt/briefing_note_indonesia
Contact:
Sumarto
+62-21-5704501
Head of Public Relation,
Indonesian Ministry of Forestry
Topic: Shareholders Meeting
Source: Indonesian Ministry of Forestry
Sectors: Environment, ESG, Environment, ESG
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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