EU Timber Regulation Research Articles

“A Level Playing Field”? – What an Environmental Justice Lens Can Tell us about Who Gets Leveled in the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan

The European Union introduced Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, with Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) and the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) as the key components. The VPA and EUTR have been conceived as complementary tools to establish a “level playing field.” This paper analyses how a level playing field has been conceptualized, approached, and experienced in practice. It focuses on the adoption and implementation of EUTR and VPA in Europe, Indonesia, and Ghana. Our research highlights inequities in the practice of “leveling” and outcomes from a presumed level field. Stakeholder engagement excluded some factions of the private sector, notably SME operators, favoring select NGOs in general. New systems also favor larger operators who possess more capacity to deal with legality requirements. This leads small operators to perceive of a so-called level playing field as one in which they are disadvantaged, indicating multiple injustices against already vulnerable groups.

Avoiding legality: Timber producers’ strategies and motivations under FLEGT in Ghana and Indonesia

Large-scale illegal logging and associated trade in illegally sourced wood products are recognized as pervasive drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in many developing countries. To address the problems, the European Union (EU) adopted the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan in 2003 with the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) and the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) as key components. Following the introduction of these initiatives, concerns have been raised about the potential of timber producers to avoid the new legality requirements. Based on interviews with timber actors in Ghana and Indonesia, this paper explores the practices of timber producers, identifying various strategies they undertake to circumvent timber legality requirements. It also explores their motivations for doing so. The study found that timber legality verification presents challenges to timber producers in Ghana and Indonesia. They therefore engage in a number of practices to avoid timber legality. These practices entail a range of actions that bypass EU market legality requirements and/or domestic laws. Motivations included instrumental, normative and contextual factors, such as the costs associated with complying with the legality requirements, and the perception that the new regulations are overly burdensome. Moreover, for many operators, there is the feeling that timber legality as it is unfolding in the countries is an imposition that fails to take into account local realities; as such, evading legality becomes a legitimate response. Through their focus on legal formalisation and strengthened enforcement, the VPA and EUTR implicitly stipulate an instrumental perspective to compliance. The paper, therefore, contends that, for the FLEGT Action Plan to achieve its objective of addressing illegal logging and, ultimately, deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, FLEGT policy makers and implementers must also pay attention to the normative and contextual factors of compliance.

Toward “hardened” accountability? Analyzing the European Union's hybrid transnational governance in timber and biofuel supply chains

AbstractThe voluntary/mandatory divide is a constant feature of scholarly debates on corporate accountability for sustainability in global supply chains. A widely held assumption is that the addition of state authority to private transnational governance in global supply chains will “harden” accountability and, thus, promote more sustainable production. The state's ability to set legally binding requirements is expected to coerce companies into complying. The hybridization of private and state authority is seen to strengthen good practice in private authority. This empirical study questions these assumptions based on an analysis of two hybrid governance arrangements for sustainability in global supply chains: the EU's Timber Regulation (EUTR) and Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The results demonstrate that both EUTR and EU‐RED yield sector wide efforts of compliance and to this extent can be seen as enhancing accountability in the sense of answerability. At the same time, we find that the policies in both cases are not more demanding, nor enforced strictly, the latter putting into question their potential to coerce companies. Further, a “hardening” of accountability is at least obscured as both EUTR and EU‐RED have stripped private authority they employ in their hybrid transnational governance from the need to establish legitimacy with a broader audience. This makes legal compliance and cost‐effectiveness the core factor for companies’ efforts to demonstrate compliance. Our findings hence question whether the EUTR and EU‐RED have led to “hardened” accountability compared to private transnational governance, and ask for an empirical, more nuanced understanding of what there is to gain or lose from hybridizing private and state authority in transnational governance.

Incorporating international biodiversity law principles and rights perspective into the European Union Timber Regulation

This article assesses the synergies and conflicts between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), and the potential role of the CBD principles and rights perspective in improving coherence across these diverse forest-related agreements. We find that both the EUTR, which aims to eliminate illegal wood from EU supply chains, and the CBD, with its core focus on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, share the stated goals of safeguarding biodiversity and local livelihoods. However, the principle of inclusive governance and sustainable use embedded in the CBD conflicts with the EUTR. The EUTR focus on law enforcement asserts the primacy of state laws independently of their sustainability content and alignment with international human rights law. We find that the EUTR risks reinforcing legal frameworks that preference large-scale export production over local forest access, use and benefits. Better aligning the EUTR with CBD safeguards firstly requires opening-up the EUTR rule-making process to broader engagement with affected groups. Secondly, our analysis of both the procedural and substantive dimensions of the EUTR and the CBD safeguards, suggests that opportunities for better alignment lie in the nexus between procedural rights, of which law enforcement forms part of a broader vision of rule of law and conflict resolution, and the strengthening of substantive rights that benefit local forest use and conservation.

Risk Wood Due Diligence of EU Timber Regulation and the Prospect of Clean Wood Act (Forum Reporting EU Study Tour)

Risk Wood Due Diligence of EU Timber Regulation and the Prospect of Clean Wood Act (Forum Reporting EU Study Tour)

The Effect of forest law enforcement governance and trade license on competitiveness of Indonesian wooden furniture in the European Union market

In May 2003 the European Union (EU) initiated an action plan (FLEGT - Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) followed by the issuance of EUTR (European Union Timber Regulation), effective March 2013, which prohibits the entry of illegal timber and timber products into the EU market. Indonesia as one of the exporting countries reacts with the FLEGT-VPA since 2007 where the Indonesia Timber Legality Assurance System (Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu - SVLK) forms the basis of the agreement andrecognized by the EU through FLEGT licensing of November 15, 2016. This study is intended to examine the effect of licenses on competitiveness of Indonesian wooden furnitureproducts in EU market. The study covers 8 provinces of wooden furniture center in Indonesia. The methods used include interviews, surveys, focus group discussions; involving producers and related institutions. The data obtained were processed and analyzed using Diamond Porter Model. The FLEGT license has increased the competitiveness of Indonesian wooden furniture in facilitating entry into the EU market. However, there are other factors at play such as relatively new nature of FLEGT-VPA and FLEGT licensing, transition period that every major policy process such FLEGT Licenses experience, level of implementation the EUTR as an incentive towards FLEGT-VPA, timber price, quality, availability, technical performance, logistics and fashion trends, especially for furniture retailers. All these factors have implications for the competitiveness of Indonesia’s FLEGT licensed timber in the EU.

A set of SNP markers for timber tracking of Larix spp. in Europe and Russia

The verification of the geographical origin of timber is of increasing importance with the entry into force of new regulations having become effective (EU Timber Regulation, US Lacey Act and Australia Illegal Logging Prohibition Act) that regulate the trade of timber. Larch timber represents a significant portion of timber traded on the European market. It is mostly harvested in Russia, where trade of illegally harvested timber is known to occur. Although genetic data are available for Larix spp., robust and polymorphic marker tests are still lacking for timber DNA analysis. Using Restriction Site Associated DNA sequencing, we developed a set of 253 SNP loci which was screened on 916 Larix spp. individuals. Bayesian cluster analysis revealed the presence of eight genetic clusters showing a West-East pattern in Eurasia. This marker set resulted in assignment success rates to the region of origin ranging from 74 per cent to 88 per cent. From the full marker set, a subset of 76 loci was selected to allow cost-effective analysis of timber and was successfully tested on nine blind timber samples. The performance of genetic assignment methods and laboratory procedures for the analysis of timber DNA is discussed.

A political economy of the European Union's timber regulation: Which member states would, should or could support and implement EU rules on the import of illegal wood?

In 2010 the EU Timber Regulation was passed into law supported by a large majority of EU member states. The stated purpose of the Regulation was to prohibit the placement of illegally produced timber within EU markets and thereby promote more sustainable management of the world's forests. Drawing on sixty interviews and written records from nine member states across the EU, we identify variables to explain differences in the levels of political support, and formal and practical implementation of the Regulation. Through systematic assessment, we find that countries that are relatively wealthy, are significant importers of high risk wood, and that have active civil societies were most likely to support the Regulation and to implement its requirements in a timely manner. In contrast the poorest countries least engaged in high risk imports face the greatest challenges with compliance, suggesting an unequal distribution of costs relative to responsibilities.

Social network analysis as a tool for the analysis of international trade of wood and non-wood forest products

Countries are almost exclusively seen as the primary unit of analysis in the study of international trade; and analysis of trade in wood and non-wood forest products is no exception to that rule. This paper uses the relationship among countries as the primary unit of analysis and introduces different procedures of social network analysis, where the goal is to demonstrate their applicability to the study of international trade of forest products. Compared to statistical analysis, additional benefit of social network analysis is the fact that the assumption of independence of observations does not hold true; and thus enables a more thorough insight into the structure of the international trade network.Data on international trade of chemical wood pulp, truffles, and aggregate forest products in the 1988–2006 period is used to demonstrate the applicability of selected network indices as descriptors of economic flows among countries. The analysis covers topics of network visualization, characteristics of the network, grouping of countries, their individual positions and modelling of international trade that includes endogenous effects such as reciprocity, and exogenous effects such as forest certification and contribution of forestry to the gross domestic product.Results show that many procedures of social network analysis can be used in the field of international trade of forest products, but that great care is needed in their contextual interpretation. Prominent topics of application are the structural trends and impact of different policies, such as the EU Timber Regulation on international trade of wood-based products.

Experimentalism in transnational forest governance: Implementing European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreements in Indonesia and Ghana

AbstractOver the past decade, the European Union (EU) has created a novel experimentalist architecture for transnational forest governance: the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative. This innovative architecture comprises extensive participation by civil society stakeholders in establishing and revising open‐ended framework goals (Voluntary Partnership Agreements [VPAs] with developing countries aimed at promoting sustainable forest governance and preventing illegal logging) and metrics for assessing progress toward them (legality standards and indicators) through monitoring and review of local implementation, underpinned by a penalty default mechanism to sanction non‐cooperation (the EU Timber Regulation that prohibits operators from placing illegally harvested wood on the European market). This paper analyzes the implementation of VPAs in Indonesia and Ghana, the two countries furthest advanced toward issuing FLEGT export licences. A central finding is the reciprocal relationship between the experimentalist architecture of the FLEGT initiative and transnational civil society activism, whereby the VPAs’ insistence on stakeholder participation, independent monitoring, and joint implementation review, underwritten by the EU, empowers domestic non‐governmental organizations with local knowledge to expose problems on the ground, hold public authorities accountable for addressing them, and contribute to developing provisional solutions.

The emergence of the European Union Timber Regulation: How Baptists, Bootleggers, devil shifting and moral legitimacy drive change in the environmental governance of global timber trade

The European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) was adopted in 2010. This Regulation prohibits placing illegally harvested timber on the EU market and obliges economic operators who put timber products for the first time on the EU market to exercise due diligence. So far, little research has been done to understand the politics of the EUTR. Based on 25 interviews with key informants and the analysis of 32 policy documents, this paper explains the emergence of the Regulation as a result of coalitional politics driven by both conflict and cooperation among state and non-state actors. We show that the politics of the EUTR is marked by heated policy debates and mistrust, in particular in regards to the prohibition clause and the relation between legality and sustainability. Domestic timber producers (public and private forest owners), forest industry (sawmilling, furniture, pulp and paper) and forest-rich EU member states (e.g. Austria, Germany, Finland and Sweden) represented in the Council built a CONTRA-coalition that were (initially) opposed to the regulatory changes suggested by the PRO-coalition of environmental groups and the European Parliament. The Regulation emerged through a strategic alliance between environmental groups, timber import-dependent forest industries and retailers. This “Baptists-and-Bootleggers” alliance was facilitated by an overlap of environmentalists' beliefs and moral arguments (emphasizing the negative societal and ecological impacts of illegal logging) and timber industries' economic interests (protectionism and market expansion as well as reputational improvement). The EUTR was finally adopted through the political support of national authorities of EU member states who are timber import-dependent (the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark), and the European Parliament. The paper concludes with a reflection on the importance of coalitional politics for policy change at the nexus between environmental, trade and market policies.

MARKET COVERAGE OF THE EUTR - WHAT SHARE OF WOOD IMPORTS INTO THE EU IS COVERED BY THE EUTR?

Illegal Logging is one of the major global causes of deforestation and degradation of forests. To combat the negative effects of illegal logging, the European Union (EU) introduced various forest related policies and measures. Among them is the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The objective of the presented analysis is to identify the percentage share that the EUTR applies to wood and wood-based products. We analysed the imports into the EU by using different reference units: the import value in Euro, the roundwood equivalent and the wood fibre equivalent. Our results show that about 90% of the imported quantities and 74% of the imported values are covered by the EUTR. This means, that in 2013 the EU imported a total wood quantity of 6 million m³ wood fibre equivalents (or 17 million m³ roundwood equivalents, respectively) which is not covered by the EUTR. This amount is almost equally distributed between wood products and paper products. Coverage ratios for further differentiated product groups differ. Typically, raw materials have a higher coverage ratio, and finished products have a lower coverage ratio. The wood quantities that are not covered by the EUTR are highly concentrated between a few commodities like wood charcoal, other articles of wood, recovered paper, printed books and brochures.

Experimentalism in Transnational Forest Governance: Implementing EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (Flegt) Voluntary Partnership Agreements in Indonesia and Ghana

Over the past decade, the European Union has created a novel experimentalist architecture for transnational forest governance: the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative. This architecture comprises extensive participation by civil society stakeholders in the establishment and revision of open-ended framework goals (bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreements or VPAs with developing countries aimed at promoting sustainable forest governance and preventing illegal logging) and metrics for assessing progress towards them (legality standards and indicators) through ongoing monitoring and review of local implementation by countries and firms, underpinned by a penalty default mechanism to sanction non-cooperation (the EU Timber Regulation that prohibits operators from placing illegally harvested wood on the European market). This paper analyzes the implementation of VPAs in Indonesia and Ghana, the two countries that are closest to being able to issue FLEGT export licences. A central theme of the analysis is the reciprocal relationship between the experimentalist architecture of the FLEGT initiative and transnational civil society activism, whereby the VPAs’ insistence on stakeholder participation, independent monitoring, and implementation review, underwritten by the EU, empower domestic NGOs with vital local knowledge to expose problems on the ground, hold public authorities accountable for addressing them, and contribute to developing joint solutions.

Correction: Trishkin, M., et al. Assessment of a Company’s Due Diligence System against the EU Timber Regulation: A Case Study from Northwestern Russia. Forests 2015, 6, 1380–1396

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [1]: The authors would like to apologize for any inconvenience caused to the readers by these changes.[...]

The Interaction between FSC Certification and the Implementation of the EU Timber Regulation in Romania

This explorative study aims to shed light on the ways in which Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification interacts with the implementation of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) in Romania. To this end, the EUTR implementation process is examined, and the relationship between this implementation and FSC certification is explored. There is a particular focus on the extent to which certification has helped companies to comply with EUTR requirements. The study uses the analytical framework of Transnational Business Governance Interactions (TBGI) and a mixed research approach. It is found that FSC certification has to a large extent helped companies to prepare for and align with the EUTR’s requirements, in particular concerning risk assessment and risk mitigation procedures needed for a due diligence system (DDS), and in the context of a “policy vacuum” period related to EUTR implementation. Moreover, recent changes in the FSC standard make it theoretically in line with EUTR requirements. However, difficulties remain in relation to the lack of information, costs and bureaucracy associated with both EUTR implementation and FSC certification. Notably, in the absence of a monitoring organization, the establishment of a viable DDS is still problematic as many companies remain unprepared for developing their own systems. Finally, the EUTR and its risk management requirements may have partly fueled the increase in uptake of chain of custody (CoC) certification in Romania. However, due to the risk of CoC certificates including illegally sourced timber, this recent uptake in certification does not necessarily indicate improved sustainable forest management (SFM) or full compliance with EUTR.

The opinions of some stakeholders on the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR): an analysis of secondary sources

Abstract: The EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) is the most recent effort by the European Union (EU) to curb imports of illegally sourced timber. The regulation raises important questions concerning the international timber trade. In order to successfully implement this regulation it is of paramount importance to classify the actors concerned, and examine how they regard it. The current study collects and summarizes opinion statements of stakeholders as found in different online publications. Though the problem of illegal logging and its associated trade is acknowledged by all parties, there are concerns as to whether the EUTR is the proper instrument to address this issue. Whilst some stakeholders see the EUTR as advantageous for their businesses, others see it as an impediment. Law enforcement, lack of guidance, and bureaucracy were other issues raised. The trade-off between effective legislation and ease of trade was also highlighted. Transparent and consistent application of the EUTR, with clear guidelines for exerting due diligence, should diminish the degree of possible unwanted side-effects such as trade diversion and substitution of temperate timber for tropical timber.

Impact of European Union Timber Regulation on Forest Certification Strategies in the Finnish Wood Industry Value Chain

The aim of this explorative study is to find out how the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) has affected the forest and chain of custody (CoC) certification strategies and practices among the Finnish wood industry companies. We are especially interested to find out whether more integrated strategies and collaborative networks have emerged for enhanced communications throughout the industry value chains. This qualitative interview study included both EUTR ex ante and ex post analysis, based on three rounds of managerial and expert interviews during 2011–2015. The results indicate that the EUTR appears to have enforced the supplier–client relations in the Finnish wood industry value chain. The sector still lacks integrated communication strategies with better understanding of customer and stakeholder values, which could contribute to more cohesive communication and marketing efforts reflecting the values of the whole industry. The certification practices are fairly spontaneously implemented following the traditional industry culture, which is not supportive of innovations and gaining competitive advantages in the broader material markets. Furthermore, the existence of two parallel forest certificates (Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)) seems to hamper the effective communication and building of an image of sustainable wood products among customers and end consumers, groups that are also exposed to more general environmental communication, e.g., in the building material markets.

Exploratory Assessment of a Company’s Due Diligence System against the EU Timber Regulation: A Case Study from Northwestern Russia

This study uses a company’s due diligence system (DDS) as an operational tool to ensure the origin of wood coming from northwestern Russia. The company exports a majority of its wood products to European Union (EU) countries, and its DDS consists of a statement of origin, geographical information, and field verification audits. Its DDS is assessed against the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). Enforcement of the EUTR began in March 2013 and is compulsory for all companies importing wood-based material from outside the EU. The DDS must contain three key components: access to information on operator’s supply of timber or timber products placed on the market, a risk assessment, and a risk mitigation method. The workflow of the conformity assessment must include a literature review, statistical and field data collection, and further analysis of the requirements. Although enforcement of the EUTR began almost two years ago, there is little research on its implementation. This DDS system showed high functionality of its existing components corresponding with the general requirements of the standards developed by the Nature Ecology and People Consult (NepCon), a non-profit organization recognized as the monitoring organization by the European Commission. This wood origin system also meets the requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification system, while maintaining full harmonization with the EUTR legislation. However, major obstacles persist in implementation of legislation by EU member states, in terms of interpretation of requirements, prosecutions and fines, and the role of third-party evidence.

Verified Legal? Ramifications of the EU Timber Regulation and Indonesia's Voluntary Partnership Agreement for the Legality of Indonesian Timber

The recent entry into force of the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) completes the EU's policy framework designed to curb trade in illegal timber. In light of the imminent ratification of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and Indonesia, the Timber Regulation raises questions about the role that Indonesia's timber legality assurance system—the SVLK—will play in securing access for Indonesian timber to the European market. We performed a regulatory analysis and found that the SVLK will serve as the basis for licensing direct exports of timber to the EU under the VPA, but that it has weaknesses which the VPA may be unable to address. The Timber Regulation, which requires due diligence for timber imports, might have helped address these weaknesses, but it explicitly excludes VPA timber from these requirements. However, trade data indicates that the size of the timber trade that the VPA will govern is not large. Further, the Regulation will apply to Indonesian timber that enters the EU via third countries. Its ability to address gaps in the SVLK as regards this timber depends on two contingencies: (1) whether the SVLK meets the Timber Regulation's certification scheme reliability criteria; and (2) whether the due diligence provision can be construed as permitting regulators to demand proof of legality beyond certification. We argue that the EUTR will continue to play an important role in regulating imports of Indonesian timber even after the VPA is ratified.

The Impact of National and EU Legislative Framework on the Illegal Exploitation of Forests in Romania. A Managerial Cause – Effect Approach

Abstract This paper aims to analyse the evolution of the legal framework of forests exploitation in Romania by analysing regulatory legal acts since 1853 until the new Forest Code in 2013 which is still in public debate. Both new Forest Code and the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) aim to stop forest mafia through changes of principle operating system. The new Forest Code disengages the transport activity from the exploitation of the wood, leading to the elimination of tax evasion (grey market) in which retailers was active. Under EUTR, is prohibited the placing on the EU market of illegally harvested timber and derived products. The Regulation applies to wood and wood products first placed on the EU market. This counters the timber trade and illegally harvested timber products requiring key obligations discussed in these article. It was also performed a comparative analysis of the old Romanian Forest Code of 2008 with a proposal for a new Forest Code in April 2014, whose changes can lead to stopping illegal logging and more effective control of the quantities transported and processed wood. A forest policy accepted by all national political entities is the expansion of forest through planting of degraded land to achieve in a period of 20 years, the European average in terms of area covered by forests. This objective is achievable through considerable financial efforts. Trends, conclusions and proposals are improving Romanian and European legislation.