FLA 13th Semi Annual Membership Meeting July 14th and 15th, 2015 - - PDF document

FLA 13th Semi Annual Membership Meeting July 14th and 15th, 2015 Presentation Quick Summaries

Jessica Graham Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs US Department of State

To tackle timber trafficking, we have to take holistic approach to forest legality by also tackling issues such as drug crimes, illegal fishing, and human trafficking. International cooperation is key through trade agreements, APEC, the UN, G7, and others to fight converging threats that are directly related to one another. Future efforts will be concentrated in ILEA Budapest, strengthening ITTO customs guidelines and training, and increasing support to global programs such as UNODC and INTERPOL.

Parul Patel USDA APHIS

APHIS is piloting the APHIS ACE (APHIS Lacey Program Readiness Automated Commercial Environment) in July 2015.

Mario Bringas Reforestamos México

Reforestamos Mexico completed a study of forest legality in Mexico, highlighting that legality is not frequently discussed in Mexico, and therefore an area of opportunity for future work. Forest surveillance should focus on the markets rather than the forest; survey results showed that 24%

• f respondents agree that the difficulty of obtaining permits are the main factor that motivates

illegal logging. If the waiting period for obtaining permits or certifications decrease, Reforestamos Mexico hypothesizes that there would more motivation for forest managers to take the legal route and obtain permits for logging where it is allowed.

Ronaldo Navarro OSINFOR (Independent Forest Monitoring Agency)

OSINFOR, Peru’s forest monitoring agency, has developed a new database in collaboration with SUNAT, Amazonas 2014, which electronically processes information presented in required documents for the transport and export of timber. Using this information, OSINFOR conducted verifications across the country, and 64,000 nonexistent trees have been identified by OSINFOR. The current centralized system is not complete; this collaboration was extremely important to expand the data pool. SIGO, an online database, provides information for all buyers through the “Green and Red list”; buyers can identify what product they are buying under what conditions.

Manuel Sanchez SUNAT Peruvian Customs and Revenue Agency; Customs Fraud and Illegal Logging

SUNAT controls revenue of customs contribution and indirectly fights illegal logging and law enforcement at the national level of commodities trade, regardless of origin and nature to prevent illegal commodity trade. A strategy to combat illegal timber trade includes a Forest Transportation Card that includes the name of the community where the timber came from, the

exportation company, and sometimes the importation company. SUNAT has identified 213,000 m ³ of timber that have come with false information and successfully intercepted the illegal timber.

Alvaro Samayoa INAB Forest Service Guatemala

INAB developed a forest information statistical information system known as SIFGUA in 2008. The system was first funded by the ITTO, and then by other organizations in the past few years, including IUCN and INAB/CONAP. By 2017, SIFGUA should be able to replicate, strengthen, and expand its current statistical work in Guatemala into Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean to form a regional information system. He also discussed SEINEF, which is a website to provide members with information about forestry companies. To be certified, companies must be registered and active in INAB, up to date with reports to INAB, and have stock

• availability. All three criteria must be met for the company to be certified. These two initiatives

manifest an effort to make information more widely accessible and transparent online in

• Guatemala. With these two electronic databases, 70% of companies have demonstrated legality.

However, SIFGUA must be replicated at the regional level to be the most effective.

Pedro Moura Costa BVRio Rio de Janerio Green Exchange

BVRio is a Brazil-based trading platform lists verified suppliers of legal timber. BVRio’s mission is to develop market mechanisms to facilitate compliance with environmental laws. It has a built- in due diligence and traceability system that includes internal verification, remote sensing, field audits, and external databases. It is linked through timber transportation documents (DOFs), and includes a risk rating system that is based on the completeness of the due diligence process. BVRio hopes to increase partnerships (current partnerships include WWF, Imaflora, WRI, Amata, CIPEM, Sindimasp, and SindusCon) as well as expand to Africa in 2016.

Cindy Squires International Wood Products Association

The Global Timber Forum, held in Shanghai this year, established a new secretariat to manage funds and develop database of global federation and association contacts, new projects for

• utreach in Africa, Myanmar, and Malaysia, as well as a new interactive website. The discussion

in Shanghai explored the main frictions and disputes for Chinese exporters, the difficulties to meet international market new requirements, how timber associations can better support their members, and how to enhance the quality and legality standards of timber products

• domestically. Next steps for GTF include an agreement to establish legal status, further develop

website, and secure long term funding. GTF could play important role in improving information flow between the government and private sector.

George White Independent Consultant

A Global Timber Forum survey of small and medium enterprises was conducted to better understand how they manage the risk of purchasing illegal timiber. He compared consumer SMEs (focused on select countries in EU) to producer SMEs (focused on Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia and Vietnam). The estimated cost of due diligence system is 23,000 Euro

per year for consumer countries, and 33,100 Euro per year for producer countries managing DD

• r complying with forest laws. In producer countries, those that have sought for help tend to do
• better. The report also found that demand for legal timber is strong from the EU, less strong

from the U.S. and absent from China. The survey also demonstrated that most producers have not switched export markets: they tend to stay with where they know and learn to keep customers happy.

Jessica McGlyn Independent Consultant

WRI, with the help of Ms. McGlyn, conducted an Industry Association Needs Assessment for the GTF. Interviews were conducted with different companies around the world, asking about their level of awareness on sustainability and legality, and where they need most legality

• support. The assessment found that companies need support with due diligence and supplier

assurance, as well as training for members on legality and sustainability. Other priorities included building consumer demand for legal wood, better internet and accessibility, improving product quality, and association organizational support. Therefore, due to diverse support needs, Ms. Glyn recommends that there be better high level funding, map the organization of associations to better understand where the larger body of associations are, authenticating documentation, training, and most importantly due diligence systems and supplier assurance.

Kip Howlett Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association (HPVA)

HPVA’s ANS LTDD 1.0 Standard, is a due diligence management system incorporates understanding of risk level, the applicable laws, and species, and relies on trust and 3rd party verification systems. It is a risk based approach that helps focus on where due diligence is

• important. ANS LTDD 1.0 relies on existing business systems, and the primary focus is on the

primary and secondary manufacturers.

Alberto Romero Asociación Española del Comercio e Industria de la Madera (AEIM)

AEIM promotes timber and timber products as a renewable material under legal and sustainable management as well as provides legal advising. He also discussed the “Spirit of EUTR,” which involves self-regulation of the operators who place timber and timber products on the EU

• market. Implementation of a due diligence system includes access to information, risk

assessment procedures, and risk mitigation procedures.

Oscar Staackmann Unión Forestal del Sector Privado (UNIFOR)

UNIFOR is a “responsible private sector actor” that operates across nine countries. The

• rganization was started due to the lack of participation and unity all along the supply chain of

the timber sector. To stimulate private sector participation, UNIFOR aims to create information clusters, engage the private sector, and help clarify domestic forest laws and laws of import

• countries. International certificates are very expensive to acquire and UNIFOR wants to help

create a regional standard that can be recognized at the international level and as a legal entity to ease the certification process. Other goals include creating a Board of Directors representing

each country, increasing presence in social media, simplifying standards to increase participation, strengthening legislation, and finding support from international organizations.