Commission bids to curb illegal logging in rainforests

The European Commission has begun talks with Indonesia aimed at curbing logging in rainforests and stopping the flow of illegal timber into Europe.

The resulting action plan will focus on reducing the amount of timber illegally logged in Indonesia, estimated at 70% of all wood produced there, establishing a licensing system with the aim of ensuring only legally logged timber enters the EU and helping local communities to produce timber sustainably.

Negotations were launched after meetings on Monday and Tuesday (8-9 January) between Louis Michel, development commissioner, Stavros Dimas, environment commissioner, and Malem Sambat Kaban, Indonesia’s minister for forestry. A deal would be important for the country’s environment, given that the EU is the third biggest market for Indonesian timber after China and the US. But the Commission said it would also be important for government revenues - €3 billion of which are lost every year because of illegal logging - and also for local communities in the long term. Corruption, criminality and environmental damage negatively affect communities, the Commission added, an assessment backed by non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

"In the long term the economic impact of illegal logging will be huge for the local population and the international community. Deforestation in relation to climate change causes 20% of carbon dioxide emissions which is more than public transport," said Sébastien Risso, Greenpeace EU policy director on forests and trade.

The action plan will also involve EU support for border controls to check illegal logging, including surveillance and the training of security personnel. Replant-ing trees in deforested areas, the tracking of timber and the independent monitoring of the trade will also be a feature of the plan.

Talks also began on agreements with Malaysia in September and with Ghana last December. The talks with the two Asian countries will take place at the same time because of the large amount of trade in illegal timber that takes place between Indonesia and Malaysia.

The Commission said it hoped to open talks with Cameroon, Liberia, Gabon, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

While NGOs see such bilateral deals as important in encouraging countries to stop illegal logging, they say the EU must end the importation of all illegally logged timber into Europe. "The EU needs to impose the same obligations on all companies selling timber products on the European markets…a huge volume of timber is imported into Europe from China and the US with no obligation to demonstrate its legal source," said Risso.

The European Commission has begun talks with Indonesia aimed at curbing logging in rainforests and stopping the flow of illegal timber into Europe.