Since 2001, Indonesia has made great strides in its efforts to eliminate illegal logging, including the development and improvement of a national timber legality system called SVLK*. Al onze teakhouten tuinmeubelen zijn voorzien van het SVLK/V-legal certificaat, waarmee wordt voldaan aan de laatste EUTR regels die sinds maart 2013 van kracht zijn. Voor de naleving van dit SVLK/V-legal certificaat worden alle containers voor verscheping gecontroleerd, op de legale herkomst van het hout. Indonesia and the EU have since negotiated a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to promote trade in legal timber products and improve forest policy. The VPA process offered significant opportunities to improve the SVLK. Teak from plantations falls within the scope of the SVLK and must therefore be SVLK certified and have V-Legal documents or FLEGT licences to be exported from Indonesia. Exports of timber under FLEGT licence automatically meet the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation. The EU Timber Regulation aims to reduce illegal logging by ensuring that no illegal timber or timber products can be sold in the EU. It was launched as part of the EU`s FLEGT* Action Plan.

Marktdeelnemers moeten garantie geven over de legale herkomst van hun producten door een stelsel van zorgvuldigheidseisen toe te passen. The EU`s internal legal framework for this scheme is Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 of 20 December 2005 (FLEGT Regulation) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008 of 17 December 2005. October 2008, which allows the control of timber imports into the EU from countries that have concluded bilateral FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with the EU. According to the agreement, VPAs include commitments and measures by both parties to combat trade in illegal timber, including through a licensing system in the partner country and the issuance of FLEGT licences certifying the legality of timber exported to the EU. In order to obtain FLEGT licences, an JPA partner country must establish a timber legality verification system (TLAS) and other measures specified in the VPA. When an RLS is fully operational, it is both robust and credible as it includes effective supply chain controls, compliance verification mechanisms and is subject to independent audits. A vpa tlas is based on a working definition of legality agreed through participatory processes involving stakeholders from government, the private sector and civil society. The VPA also promotes better forest law enforcement and an inclusive approach involving civil society and the private sector. A key element of the FLEGT Action Plan is a voluntary scheme to ensure that only legally harvested timber from countries that agree to participate in the FLEGT is imported into the EU. *SVLK (Sistem Verificasi Legalitas Kayu) is the acronym for Indonesia`s National Timber Legality Verification System, a mandatory legality and sustainability certification system based on a multi-stakeholder national consensus. Illegale houtkap praktijken zijn al jarenlang een bekend probleem in Indonesia.

*FLEGT: FLEGT stands for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade. The EU FLEGT Action Plan was drawn up in 2003. The aim is to reduce illegal logging by strengthening sustainable and legal forest management, improving governance and promoting trade in legally produced timber. List of competent authorities of the Member States responsible for the implementation of the FLEGT Regulation Like!! I blog quite often and thank you sincerely for your information. The article really piqued my interest. Updated guidance on the implementation of Customs and FLEGT is now available to assist Customs authorities and relevant FLEGT authorities to carry out their tasks effectively in accordance with FLEGT legislation. De Europese houtverordening verbiedt het op de markt brengen van illegaal gekapt hout. Negotiations are under way with Côte d`Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Laos, Malaysia and Thailand. Save my name, email address, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Examples of SVLK certifications at various workshops in Indonesia Signature of the EU-Ghana FLEGT Partnership Agreement DG Environment leads the implementation of the FLEGT AP, including the negotiation and implementation of FLEGT VPAs with Southeast Asian countries. VPAs have been signed with Indonesia and Vietnam, and negotiations are ongoing with Laos and Thailand.

VPA negotiations with Malaysia have been suspended. Indonesia is the first country in the world to start issuing FLEGT licences on 15 November 2016. FLEGT licences are issued by licensing authorities (licensing authorities in Indonesia, which are independent organizations registered with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the supplier country). Hieronder kunt u lezen wat de Europese houtverordening inhoudt: In 2014, both parties ratified the agreement and began implementing VPA commitments. In 2016, the EU and Indonesia confirmed that Indonesia had complied with the final requirements of the VPA and Indonesia started issuing FLEGT licences on 15 November 2016. VPA Unpacked contains all kinds of information for readers who are new to FLEGT and FPA, and for those who are already familiar with these concepts. VPA Unpacked is divided into six chapters that describe the different aspects of VPA in more and more detail. You can easily navigate the document using hyperlinks in the table of contents or in each chapter. All essential information on FLEGT authorised timber is chapter “4.2.3.5. FLEGT Authorization” from VPA Unpacked. Annual summary reports from the Commission and the Member States on the implementation of the FLEGT licensing scheme: reports on the FLEGT Regulation.

Indonesian products under FLEGT licence are considered to comply with the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation. This means that EU-based operators do not have to do their due diligence before placing FLEGT licensed products on the market. Since 15 November 2016, products listed in the revised Annex I of the VPA can no longer be imported into the EU unless they hold a FLEGT authorisation. The first VPA was signed with Ghana, followed by the Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Indonesia, Central African Republic, Liberia and Vietnam. Voor meer informatie en om onze certificaten in te zien kunt u altijd contact met ons opnemen. The EU concluded negotiations with Honduras and Guyana and initialled an FPA. The European Commission has been mandated by the EU Council of Ministers to negotiate the conclusion of these FLEGT VPAs. As the European Commission takes the lead in these negotiations, EU Member States play a key role in supporting the negotiations and their implementation.