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Review of the points of debate and reflection on the draft European regulation on imported deforestation – ATIBT
The ATIBT continues to be involved in the European negotiations on this regulation, particularly on those elements that appear to be of concern, while reiterating its overall support for the Commission's proposal and its objectives.
With the adoption of a new European regulation on wood, soy, coffee, cocoa, beef and palm oil, European companies will soon be faced with new obligations. As such, the ATIBT participated in two events that took place last March: the Preferred by Nature webinar, and the CST Forest workshop organized by CIRAD in collaboration with the French Ministry of Ecological Transition (MTE). To allow you to learn about this draft regulation and identify the risks and opportunities it represents for the tropical timber industry, we propose to review these two events. The ATIBT has also written a FAQ on the draft regulation, do not hesitate to read or reread it.
The French version of this webinar, held on March 18, was moderated by Preferred by Nature's responsible sourcing specialists, Elena Sosa and Chloé Viala, who provided an overview of the key elements and requirements of the proposed regulation to help companies in the relevant sectors prepare for it. Alessandra Negri, LCB's Markets and CSR Manager, also spoke about the French timber industry's experience in implementing due diligence under the EU Wood Regulation and sustainable forest management certification. Finally, Laure d'Astorg, from the Alliance for the Preservation of Forests, presented the self-assessment tool available to companies for the evaluation of their responsible purchasing program.
An English version of this webinar is also available (with other speakers).
Although changes may be incorporated before the final version of the text is adopted, Preferred by Nature wanted to present the key elements contained in the European Commission's proposal. Indeed, the objective of the regulation and the basis of the mechanisms that are proposed will likely remain unchanged. PBN recalled that the EU regulation will establish obligations on the European market to "minimize the consumption of products from supply chains associated with deforestation or forest degradation - and to increase the demand for and trade in legal and zero deforestation products”. This new regulation will therefore replace the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR). The key elements of the project can be summarized in 4 points:
Prohibition of import and export of non-compliant products
Due diligence obligation for operators
Obligation of member states to ensure its implementation
Implementation of an information system
Preferred by Nature also presented the main definitions contained in the EU Commission's text (deforestation, degradation, sustainable harvesting operations), the products concerned and the actors involved. These elements are open to discussion within the framework of the European negotiations in the Council of the EU, as they may appear to be of concern from the point of view of the text's operationality and effectiveness. The ATIBT is also very vigilant to the good cooperation with the producer countries for the construction of this new regulation.
Organized on March 28 within the framework of the CSTF (Scientific and Technical Forest Committee, a body created by AFD and in charge of supporting the implementation of the French National Strategy on Imported Deforestation -SNDI), the workshop brought together some thirty civil society actors identified as key (representatives of the sector, NGOs), experts and researchers, and representatives of the French ministries concerned (Ministries of Ecological Transition, Agriculture and Food). The ATIBT was present to represent the tropical wood sector. The purpose of the workshop was to highlight and discuss the points of concern raised by NGOs, private sector representatives and French delegations, in order to reach a shared understanding of the issues and avenues for compromise.
Five points contained in the EU proposal were discussed:
Definitions of forests, deforestation and forest degradation
"Cut off date" of deforestation by December 31, 2021
Integration of other ecosystems than forests
Risk classification by country (benchmarking)
Traceability operability
You can read the full report of the workshop by clicking here (in French).
Among all its recommendations, the ATIBT supported the idea of using the definition contained in Annex 1 of the EU delegated act on taxonomy: "forest means land corresponding to the definition of forest as set out in national legislation or, where this is not available, is in accordance with the FAO definition of forest". Indeed, this definition allows harmonization of EU regulations and avoids the pitfall of imposing a universal definition of forest without taking into account the diversity of forests. To make the definition of forest degradation clear and adapted to the timber sector, the ATIBT supported the idea of linking the definition of degradation to the concept of sustainable forest management.
The ATIBT has also expressed its views on the limits of country risk classification (Benchmarking) and the need to conduct these risk assessments at sub-national levels, or at the operator level to take into account individual good practices (such as sustainable management certification).
Concerning traceability, the ATIBT recalls the experience acquired by the timber sector through the implementation of chain of custody certification and agrees on the importance of a robust and efficient traceability. However, she pointed out that wood processing can combine many sources of these products. A pragmatic solution would be to verify traceability from the first infrastructure of collection or processing (crusher, factory, cooperative ...), and a transparency of all the parcels of supply of it, without having to link a product placed on the European market to a specific parcel.
Through its interventions, the ATIBT has widely highlighted the interest of forest certification to meet the challenges of traceability and sustainability of forest management, and advocates for an unequivocal recognition of this process as a reliable tool for analysis and risk reduction in the future EU regulation.
In addition to this news, the ATIBT is co-publishing a manifesto with E. Groutel (Wale) to recall the historical commitment of the tropical forestry and timber sector to sustainable management and traceability of timber through certification and its experience with due diligence through the application of the EUTR (FLEGT process).
ATIBT will continue to share its position and make proposals for amendments to the text to ensure that the objective of the future regulation is met: "to reduce the consumption of products from supply chains associated with deforestation or forest degradation, and to increase the demand for and trade in legal and "deforestation-free" products in the EU”.
The Multi-stakeholder Dialogue of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) between representatives of donor countries, civil society, the private sector, INGOs and multilaterals in dialogue with representatives of Central African countries will take place on Friday 8 December 2023, 14:00-15:30 at the COMIFAC Initiatives Pavilion, Blue Zone. Theme of the event:“The Central African Forests, vital global biodiversity and carbon reserves: a major challenge for domestic and international mobilisation”.
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As a main operating entity under the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), GCF takes guidance from the Conference of Parties (COP) on its policies, programming priorities, and eligibility criteria. The GCF delegation will be observing the official negotiations, and hosting and taking part in various events.
UN Climate Change News, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 29 November 2023 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 will open tomorrow with a resounding call to accelerate collective climate action. The conference takes place in what is already known to be the hottest year ever recorded in human history and as the impacts of the climate crisis wreak unprecedented havoc on human life and livelihoods around the world.
On Saturday 28 October 2023, partners of the CBFP attending the Summit of the Three World Tropical Basins of Amazonia, Congo and Borneo-Mekong in the Republic of Congo met at the Kintele Conference Centre in Brazzaville. The meeting provided an opportunity for the partners present at the summit to discuss the implementation of the CBFP Roadmap for the next two years and to prepare for forthcoming international and regional events, with a view to strengthening synergies between the partners and building coalitions in a spirit of partnership in order to create an active dynamic between the partners and colleges of the CBFP.
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Brazzaville, 30 October 2023. The official launch of the activities of the France - Gabon Co-Facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) took place on Thursday 26 October 2023 in Room 6 of the Kintele Conference Centre in Congo Brazzaville. Please download the roadmap of the Co-Facilitation..
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To read: West African producers - generally dull international demand; Slump in Malaysia’s exports; Indonesian industry ready to intensify presence in Asian markets; Peeler logs now more readily available in Northern India; Incentives for Peruvian companies obtaining voluntary forest certification; Japanese importers confused over new government requirement; Action required now by tropical wood suppliers to meet EUDR requirements; US wooden furniture imports at lowest since March..
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The fifty-ninth session of the International Tropical Timber Council (ITTC), the governing body of the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), opened in Pattaya, Thailand, with a call from the host country for ITTO to continue promoting legal trade in tropical timber and encouraging the use of wood derived from sustainable forest management (SFM). To fulfil their mandate, ITTC member countries took some crucial decisions to navigate the challenging financial and organizational conditions that have buffeted their organization in recent years.
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Improved management and conservation could, by 2030, increase the value of DRC's forest-based ecosystem services by US$1.76 billion/year8 over the BAU scenario, and by US$3.8 billion/year by 2050. A comparison of net present values of costs and benefits shows that for every $1 invested today in landscape and forest restoration, DRC stands to gain $15 in benefits by 2050…
David began his career in journalism in his homeland of Cameroon as a writer for The Post Newspaper, before transitioning to broadcasting. He then worked for Radio Reine, Radio Environment, and the Cameroon Radio Television Corporation, while freelancing for Reuters and RFI.
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The Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest forest has distinct meteorological characteristics, and its ecosystem is controlled by complex interactions between many climatic phenomena that act across scales (Fig. 1). While it receives little attention compared to the Amazon Basin, due to its location, the Congo rainforest also contributes to processes responsible for interhemispheric climatic communications in Africa. At the larger scale, the basin regulates the global tropical circulation by serving as one of the world’s most convectively active regions. Therefore, the Basin offers a unique natural laboratory for climate science explorations and the implications for people and ecosystems. But, why has this green heart of Africa been neglected and what should we do about it?.
Durban ( South Africa), October 31 to November 01, 2023– How can we breathe new life and energy into the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Region? The issue was at the heart of the Regional Retreat on the review of the impact of the Framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the region, and recommendations for revitalization efforts, held in Durban, South Africa, from October 31 to 01.November 1, 2023.
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The second Summit of the world's three tropical forest basins was held from October 26 to 28, 2023 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. It brought together leaders from the Amazon, the Congo and the Borneo-Mekong-Southeast Asia region to form a global coalition. Its aim was to implement, within the framework of the United Nations Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, the first global coalition for the restoration of 350 million hectares of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
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In a significant move towards enhanced partnerships and coordination, the United States has officially announced its intent to join the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) as an Executive Board member. The announcement was made during a side event of the Three Basins Summit attended by Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso and Minister of the Environment of Congo-Brazzaville Arlette Soudan-Nonault. The Summit was held in Brazzaville from October 26-28, 2023,
CAFI is launching a call for Expressions of Interest today to all relevant implementing organisations interested in investing in private sector companies in our partner countries (the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the Central African Republic) to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the following sectors...
COMIFAC, the GIZ Regional Support Project for COMIFAC, the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) France – Gabon Facilitation, the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), the EU Funded Support Project to the Central African Forests Observatory (RIOFAC and The Sangha Tri-National Trust Fund (FTNS)hereby launch a call for proposals to host side events lasting no more than 60 minutes under the « COMIFAC – Central Africa Initiatives », at the COP28 venue from 30th November to 12th December 2023. Applications should be submitted before 31 October 2023.
In a declaration issued at the end of the Summit of the world's three great basins of the Amazon, the Congo and Borneo-Mekong on Saturday 28 October 2023 in Brazzaville, the Heads of State and Government undertook, among other things, to: to strengthen cooperation between the three basins, which are home to 80% of the world's tropical forests and two-thirds of terrestrial biodiversity; to recognise the unity of enhanced cooperation between the three basins; to recognise the sovereign management of biodiversity, forests and associated resources by the countries that make up the three basins; to pool and capitalise on the knowledge, experience, resources and achievements existing in each of the basins; and to introduce a sustainable system of remuneration for the ecosystem services provided by the three basins".
