Forest Law Enforcement, Governance And Trade Research Articles

External Europeanization through timber trade agreements: Tracing causality in environmental governance reform

The business models of tropical timber production have long been configured around illegal practices that cause environmental degradation and hinder socioeconomic progress in the Global South. However, the global corporations trading timber often point to regulatory governance weaknesses in the jurisdictions where they source timber as hindering efforts to address illegalities in their supply chains. In an innovative response, the European Union (EU) combines mandatory due diligence for timber imports – the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) – with EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership trade Agreements (VPAs) that offer finance, technology transfer, and capacity building to support domestic regulation in timber exporting countries. Through process tracing, we assess the extent to which the EU's efforts have been effective in reforming domestic environmental governance to reduce illegal logging in Cameroon and Ghana. This allows for understanding the potential of external Europeanization, a theoretical approach explaining how and why countries (and the businesses they regulate) outside of the EU might adapt their domestic governance institutions and processes to EU rules and norms. As the EU considers similar approaches to regulate forest-related illegalities and deforestation in global agricultural supply chains, it is important to take stock of past and on-going policy efforts. We find that the causal mechanisms embedded in FLEGT have lost their transformative potential due to unfinished domestic reforms, the technocracy of supply chain traceability systems, and market leakage. Our findings suggest the VPA deliberations underpinning supply-side efforts have not shifted the power balance but rather distracted from the reality that there will be winners and losers as the countries shift toward a more transparent and accountable political economy.

Implementation of FLEGT Licensing Scheme in Deforestation Law Enforcement: Improvements and Handling in Indonesia

This study aims to determine the implementation of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) licensing scheme in Indonesia, focusing on its improvements and handling in relation to deforestation law enforcement. The research method used is qualitative, with an empirical juridical, statutory, and contextual approach. The results of this study indicate that aspects of environmental law enforcement in Indonesia have not yet come to light. The responsible authorities and powers exhibit a tendency to supersede established regulations of environmental law enforcement regarding procedural requirements, remedies, and sanctions. Consequently, reforestation schemes and forestry restoration permits, which are intended to counteract the effects of deforestation, have proven to be ineffective. This ineffectiveness can be attributed to the ongoing industrial forestry activities carried out by companies and entrepreneurs, which lack the requisite procedures for ensuring accountability in environmental restoration.

Recognition on whose terms? Indigenous justice struggles in the EU-Honduran FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement

Building on decolonial environmental justice (EJ) and indigenous resurgence theories, this article explores how indigenous organisations in Honduras have used the EU-Honduras Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to pursue state recognition of procedural, self-determination and self-governance rights. Specifically, the article discusses indigenous engagements with the FLEGT VPA multi-stakeholder dialogues, the development of the VPA text and legality matrix and the FAO-EU-FLEGT donor funds as catalysers for the development of a – highly contentious – Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) bill, the development of FAO-EU-FLEGT-funded FPIC protocols, and the push for land titling and the formal recognition of indigenous governance institutions and practices. Applying decolonial environmental justice (DEJ) and indigenous resurgence insights, the article asks “on whose terms” recognition was obtained. It concludes that, while the VPA increased access to policymakers for longstanding indigenous agendas, it also reinscribed the colonial political hierarchy by ignoring, diluting and reinterpreting indigenous proposals in favour of state sovereignty over indigenous lands and people. The research was based on a combination of literature review, interviews and written communications with indigenous representatives and document analysis.

Indonesian Efforts and Delays in Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT )License Implementation within the European Union

The purpose of this article is to analyze the factors contributing to Indonesia's evolving stance during negotiations for issuing FLEGT Licenses, employing qualitative research techniques and a single case study approach. Stephen Woolcock's Economic Diplomacy Theory is utilized as the analytical framework. This paper argues that structural, domestic, and ideological factors influence Indonesia's policy adjustments in response to the FLEGT license mechanism. The study reveals issues such as an imbalanced relationship between Indonesia and the EU in FLEGT implementation, policy inconsistencies among Indonesian governmental bodies involved, and perceptual discrepancies among stakeholders engaged in the process. The findings suggest that, in Indonesia's case, Woolcock's theory factors interact, with the pivotal relationship between interest and institutional variables within the domestic decision-making process significantly impacting changes in Indonesia's stance on economic diplomacy practices

Problems and Challenges on Environmental Law Enforcement in Indonesia: AMDAL in the Context of Administrative Law

Environmental issues have been increasingly recognized as significant challenges facing Indonesia, as a developing country with a rapidly growing population and a rapidly expanding economy. In recent years, environmental degradation and natural resource depletion have become more acute, resulting in increased pressure on the government to take stronger action to protect the environment. Despite the existence of environmental laws in Indonesia, environmental degradation continues to occur, highlighting the need for better enforcement and stronger legal protections. One of the major environmental problems in Indonesia is deforestation, which is driven by the expansion of agricultural land, mining activities, and logging. This has resulted in significant habitat loss and biodiversity decline, as well as increased greenhouse gas emissions from the loss of forest cover. Additionally, Indonesia’s coastline and marine ecosystems are threatened by pollution from industrial activities and plastic waste, which has adverse effects on marine life and human health. Environmental laws in Indonesia include a range of regulatory measures, such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) programs. However, the implementation of these laws is often inadequate, with weak enforcement and a lack of effective penalties for non-compliance. Moreover, corruption and lack of political will have been identified as key factors that hinder the effective implementation of environmental laws in Indonesia.

Impact of the FLEGT license on Indonesian plywood competitiveness in the European Union

Indonesia is the only country with the FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade) license that allows them to sell plywood in the EU market. However, an assessment of the impact of FLEGT on Indonesian plywood competitiveness has not yet been made. This study aims to determine the impact of the FLEGT license on Indonesian plywood competitiveness in the EU market. The study was conducted using secondary data from January 1999 to July 2021. RCA, two-stage least squares, and Propensity Score Matching were used to analyse the data. The result shows that the FLEGT license has deceased Indonesian plywood competitiveness in the EU market. However, this condition is still better than implementing the Voluntary Partnership Agreements phase. Indonesian plywood competitiveness has also reduced due to the increase in the consumer price index and the Indonesian plywood price. Therefore, we recommend strengthening the promotion of Indonesian plywood in EU countries, educating Indonesian plywood stakeholders about the FLEGT system, and managing the inflation rate.

Examining the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) action plan in Ghana through a governmentality lens

Over the past decade, the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) action plan has emerged as a key global initiative in addressing deforestation and forest degradation. Yet, there is considerable scholarly debate and disagreement about the impact of FLEGT on forest governance, and ultimately, its effectiveness in arresting deforestation and degradation. This article contributes to this debate through a detailed examination of FLEGT in the case of Ghana. It applies a governmentality analytical lens that examines practices of problematization, knowledge production, intervention and subjectification. The article builds on a detailed review of the substantial literature on FLEGT in Ghana, the first timber producing country to enter into a voluntary partnership agreement with the EU. The article illustrates how FLEGT frames illegal logging as the central problem, and how this focus relegates other problems – especially those concerning tree tenure and benefit sharing – to secondary positions. This goes hand in hand with production of knowledge that stabilizes illegal logging as the key problem and provides legitimacy to the FLEGT implementation. The article then examines the many interventions which FLEGT has triggered. On the positive side, it has enhanced consultation and participation of private sector and civil society in forest governance, as well as increased forest sector transparency. Despite its stipulated aims, FLEGT has been less successful in nurturing deeper forest governance reforms that could provide incentives for agents in the sector to engage actively in forest conservation and cultivation of trees. FLEGT focuses on technical issues and challenges, failing to address inherently political issues concerning forest and tree tenure. It maintains local populations living in and close to the forest as passive subjects with limited rights to the forest or influence over its management. The article concludes that to achieve its aims, FLEGT needs to move away from its current technical focus and colonial forest governance model to seriously address issues of tree tenure, benefit sharing and access. It discusses what is required for such a change to take place, and more generally, what a governmentality lens has to offer political ecology.

FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement implementation in Ghana: insights from a SWOT analysis

The European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) is an important international forest governance initiative, yet various implementation challenges remain. The FLEGT VPA implementation challenges are well-documented in the scientific literature, where various methodologies and research approaches have been used. As the empirical case indicated various contradicting and overlapping claims, where different respondents framed the same situations as strengths as well as weaknesses, and/or as threats as well as opportunities, we used the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) approach to assess the associated governance changes in FLEGT VPA implementation in Ghana. This paper offers new insights derived from participant observation of the second independent technical evaluation of the Ghana Timber Legality Assurance System (GhTLAS) conducted in July 2019, and from semi-structured interviews with key informants and a document review. What are considered the greatest perceived strengths – namely multi-stakeholder engagement, clarification of regulatory frameworks, and access to information – are brought into question once the identified weaknesses and threats are explored in more detail. The identified weaknesses include the top-down nature of the multi-stakeholder process, fatigue related to additional legality principles, and bureaucracy of the GhTLAS, which negatively affect VPA implementation activities and processes in Ghana.

Diplomasi Indonesia Dalam Perdagangan Kayu Ke Uni Eropa

Indonesia is the first country that has successfully issued FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) license, a market based international regulation system initiated by European Union to encourage sustainable forest management particularly in developing countries. This success story is considered as the achievement of Indonesia's economic diplomacy despite of the fact that Indonesia had previously postponed its policy to join the FLEGT mechanism during the negotiation process with European Union from 2015 to 2016. This article aims to analyze the factors contributing to Indonesia's changing position during the negotiation process by applying the qualitative research approach and single case study method. The theory of Economic Diplomacy from Stephen Woolcock (2016) is used as the analytical framework. This article argues that there are systemic, domestic and ideational factors affecting Indonesia's policy changes to respond to FLEGT license mechanism. The research finds that the factors consist of the asymmetric relation between Indonesia and the European Union in the implementation of FLEGT, the policy incoherence between Indonesia’s national agencies involved, and the distinguished perception between actors involved in the process. This study concludes that in the case of Indonesia, the three factors outlined by the Woolcock’s theory have concertedly contributed, however the critical linkages between interest and institution variables related to the decision-making process at domestic level have proven to significantly shape the final stance of Indonesia in economy diplomacy.

Tracing timber legality in practice: The case of Ghana and the EU

The traceability of products has become an ever more important topic in global value chains because governments, producers and consumers wish to have in-depth information on the origin, quality, safety and sustainability of the products they regulate, trade or buy. However, traceability systems come with criticisms and challenges. This article describes how timber traceability is being realized in Ghana in the context of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between Ghana and the EU, which is part of the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative. Building on practice theory, this article conceptualizes traceability systems as ensembles of procedures, interpretations and activities. Empirically, it presents an analysis of the Ghanaian Legality Assurance System (LAS) and Wood Tracking System (WTS). Results show that the LAS/WTS moved from a ‘digitalized regulatory track-and-trace system’ on the design table towards a more hybrid one in practice, integrating elements of a communication governance mode and of a mass-balance model too, and keeping alive a parallel paper-based infrastructure. While particularly governmental officials are satisfied with the LAS/WTS, it is also important to recognize that stakeholders interpret aspects of the system quite differently, and deal with implementation issues on the ground quite differently, implying that ‘legality-on-paper’ and ‘legality-in-practice’ are not necessarily the same.

Forest Regulatory Frameworks and Outcomes: An Assessment of Flegt and Timber Exploitation Activities in Ghana

The EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan in 2003 was aimed at addressing illegal logging and to check the trade of illegal timber products in global markets to ultimately control deforestation and forest loss. Ghana was among the first timber exporting countries to ratify the VPA in the year 2007. This study set out to examine how the ratification and enforcement of the VPA protocols has influenced forest governance and timber harvesting activities in Ghana. In other words, to what extent has the enforcement of FLEGT VPA protocols in Ghana contributed to forest governance and illegal timber trading activities in Ghana? The qualitative case study design was employed to gather data from purposively selected respondents. The study established that VPA implementation has reduced the incentives to engage in illegal logging because the control mechanisms put in place will easily detect illegality tendency of prosecution will be high and the tendency of not meeting international market standards are also high. It emerged the VPA helps check the rots in timber trade and exploitation through its multi-stage transparency and accountability systems which blows those covers with tendency to fuel illicit timber trading activities. The study proposes two clear measures which could help prevent, detect and deter people from such illegal timber trade. Keywords: Forest governance, timber exploitation; timber trade; illegal logging; FLEGT DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/73-03 Publication date: February 28 th 2021

Voluntary Partnership Agreements: Assessing impacts for better policy decisions

The European Union's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan is an ambitious strategy to fight illegal logging and its negative impacts. The FLEGT theory of change is based on three types of FLEGT actions, namely timber production, demand, and global timber trade standards and dynamics. FLEGT works in more than a dozen countries through Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA). Very few studies exist on the global or country-level impact of the FLEGT-VPA process. We sought to understand the contribution of FLEGT-VPAs in three countries (Cameroon, Ghana, and Indonesia) at different stages of VPA implementation. A uniform methodology was applied to provide cross-cutting results on perceived changes directly linked to the FLEGT expected impacts while allowing for contextual specificities. This approach is designed to be easily replicable in all VPA countries and directly linked to the FLEGT global theory of change. This commentary presents our findings and their implications for policy makers.

Legality requirements for wood import in the EU: Who wins, who loses?

This paper presents a spatial equilibrium model to analyses the leverage impact of the legality requirements in the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The EUTR is part of the EU's Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) program, which aims to stimulate legal wood production and sustainable forest management at global level. This leverage effect is an argument in favor of FLEGT but it has never been investigated thoroughly, nor simultaneously for demand and supply. The leverage effect is measured in terms of the market share of legal wood (i.e. accompanied by a license which approves its legality) in total wood production. Our research finds that FLEGT does not increase legal wood production and consumption. FLEGT creates a non-tariff trade barrier at the non-tropical regions' conventional wood markets. This situation allows conventional wood producers to benefit from monopoly rents. The presence of transport costs prevents consumers to switch to foreign producers. In addition, producers in tropical regions cannot compete with the more efficient producers in the non-tropical regions on the certified market. As such, FLEGT curtails part of the international trade flows which decrease the global quasi-welfare, with especially consumers being hit. To tackle those issues, non-compliant producer should be assisted in reaching the legality requirements to turn FLEGT into a fully inclusive policy. In addition, consumers should be engaged to pay a price premium to compensate the additional costs related to legal wood production.

Monitoring Implementation Impact of the EU-Indonesia’s VPA on SME Livelihood

The Europe Union (E.U.) has agreed to grant the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license to Indonesia as the first country in the world to receive it. FLEGT VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) is a bilateral agreement between the European Union (E.U.) and wood exporting countries, to improve forest governance sector and ensure that timber and wood products imported into the E.U. are produced by the laws and regulation of partner countries. The Indonesian government has obliged to implement Article 12 relating to social safeguards. Indonesia has to periodically monitor to see the extent to which the VPA has an environmental and social impact that affect the lives and welfare of vulnerable and marginalised groups. The purpose of this study is to analyse how the effect of implementation of the Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu (SVLK) as part of VPA in the small and medium forestry industry sector. Methodology survey with focus group discussions, structured interviews, and semistructured interviews to find out the response and opinion of SME’s owner and employee addressed the effect of SVLK in East Java and Central Java, Indonesia. The theory of change (ToC) was used to consider the implications of SVLK implementation on the sustainable livelihood of small and medium enterprises (SME’s). The results of this study showed that SVLK had a more significant impact on livelihoods, as follows. First, the vulnerable and marginalised groups need to be supported by stakeholders to encourage readiness in faces of SVLK impact. Second, SVLK is susceptible to the effects and at risk of losing livelihoods for women and disabled groups in a short time. This group includes vulnerable groups of aspects of adaptability and sensitivity to the effect. Third, SME’s worker groups who do not have a labour organisation are sensitive to the impact on the workplace company. This group is classified as a group that is quite vulnerable if the effect lasts long enough and on a large scale of impact.

“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.

Imposing legality: hegemony and resistance under the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) initiative

Timber legality trade restrictions and verification are a bundle of contemporary mechanisms triggered by global concerns about forest degradation and deforestation. The European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade initiative is a significant effort to not only screen out illegal timber and wood products from the EU, but also support trading partner countries to improve their legality definitions and verification processes. But by using bilateral agreements (Voluntary Partnership Agreements) as a key mechanism, the EU legitimizes trade partner nation-states as the authority to decide what is legal. We engage in a theoretical debate about the complexities of the meaning of legality, and then analyze empirical data collected from interviews in Ghana, Indonesia, Vietnam and Europe with policy, civil society and industry actors to understand how different actors understand legality. We find hegemonic notions of Westphalian statehood at the core of 'global' notions of legality and often contrast with local understandings of legality. Non-state actors understand these hegemonic notions of legality as imposed upon them and part of a colonial legacy. Further, notions of legality that fail to conform with hegemonic understandings are readily framed by nation-states as immoral or criminal. We emphasize the importance of understanding these framings to elucidate the embedded assumptions about what comprises legality within assemblages of global actors.Key words: FLEGT, timber legality, hegemony, power, globalization

How REDD+ and FLEGT-VPA processes are contributing towards SFM in Indonesia – the specialists' viewpoint

In an effort to reverse the trend of deforestation and forest degradation, several international initiatives have been attempted. Though promoted in different political arenas, Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) – Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD+) share overlapping objectives of conservation of tropical forests. We explore specialists' viewpoint on FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ processes in Indonesia with reference to their contribution towards Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The study shows that FLEGT-VPA and REDD+ regimes contribute towards SFM. While FLEGT-VPA improves enabling condition for SFM through governance reform, improved harvesting practices, and timber legality assurance system, REDD+ supports SFM through institutional strengthening, reforming policies and frameworks, mobilizing new and additional financial resources and increasing social and ecological resilience. We identified opportunities to achieve synergies between REDD+ and FLEGT-VPA by harmonizing their processes, tools, methodologies, technical assistance, capacity-building and funding mechanisms.

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.

Access to information and local democracies: a case study of REDD+ and FLEGT/VPA in Cameroon

As technological advancements in forest monitoring – such as remote sensing and commodity supply chain tracking – allow for the generation and analysis of increasingly large datasets, forest policy makers and practitioners are looking for innovative yet practical ways for information transparency to transform forest governance. Especially in tropical forest countries looking to address the continuing deforestation and forest degradation through climate finance commitments and timber trade agreements, the access to information agenda has been placed at the fore of both the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) process and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. This paper explores whether and how the proposed transparency agenda is having an impact (or not) in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. Using semi-structured interviews with civil society organizations, this paper examines how information is currently disclosed in the forest sector and the status of REDD+ and FLEGT transparency agendas at the local level.

Verification of Legal Acquisition under the CITES Convention: The Need for Guidance on the Scope of Legality

The two main prerequisites for legal international trade under CITES are the non-detriment finding, or NDF, in which a scientific authority certifies that the export of a given Appendix I or Appendix II species will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild, and verification by the Management Authority that species are not being traded in contravention of the laws of that state for the protection of fauna and flora. This is referred to as a legal acquisition finding, or LAF. Verifying legal acquisition through an LAF is a fundamental requirement of CITES and underpins the legitimacy of the entire system of international trade under the Convention. When an international shipment of specimens of CITES-listed species is accompanied by a permit, it is seen as certification by the exporting country that the shipment is legal in every sense. However, it is widely recognised that this obligation is implemented inconsistently, leading to illegally acquired CITES-listed species entering the market and undermining the credibility and effectiveness of CITES permits. This inconsistent implementation is partly due to differing understanding of what can reasonably be said to constitute laws “for the protection of flora and fauna,” i.e., the scope of legality of legal acquisition verifications under CITES.This article explores the scope of legality of legal acquisition verifications under CITES as well as recent developments leading to the adoption of guidance on Legal Acquisition Findings at the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) in August 2019. It draws from the experience of the EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) process, whose understanding of legality extends beyond the scope of laws directly related to the extraction and trade of timber to include laws pertaining to environmental quality, biodiversity conservation, land tenure (access and ownership), and other considerations relevant to the long-term sustainability of trade in a natural resource such as timber. The article argues that there is much to be gained from establishing a collaborative process within CITES to develop a shared understanding of the range of laws that ought to be considered and complied with when determining legal acquisition, ultimately contributing to better implementation of CITES.