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The European Commission is developing a new regulation that intends to curb deforestation and forest degradation caused by EU consumption and the production of certain commodities and products, including timber. The initiative aims to use EU market leverage to encourage countries to avoid deforestation and forest degradation and increase EU demand for - and trade in - legal and ‘deforestation-free’ commodities and products.

 

While it is still unclear how the new regulation will interact with existing instruments such as FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade regulation) and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), and what type of ‘supply-side’ accompanying measures are foreseen, it is important for all stakeholders, particularly those living in tropical forested countries, to examine the potential impacts of these developments and engage with the EU so that their voices can be heard.

 

The briefing session will include a presentation of a paper commissioned by Fern on “FLEGT VPAs 2.0: Options for strengthening the relevance, sustainability, and impact of FLEGT and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements”, which gathers the views and perspectives from timber-producing countries on the current and future relevance of the EU’s illegal logging policies in protecting tropical forests and forest communities, and collates several proposals, and principles, for reform.

 

Ministers and other stakeholders from Central Africa and beyond will be invited to share views and insights on potential innovations to the VPA model, and its integration into and contribution towards global action against deforestation.

 

Programme

• Welcome and introduction – Dr Christian Rück, Facilitator, Congo Basin Forest Partnership
• Presentation of discussion paper on FLEGT VPAs 2.0 – Stéphanie Canbatous, Independent Consultant and Marie-Ange Kalenga, Policy Advisor, Fern
• Questions & Answers
• Contributions from COMIFAC Ministers
• Contributions from civil society actors from Central and West Africa

 

This event is organised by Fern in collaboration with Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) and the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP).

 

For more Information, please, download the Document here below: