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ISSUE 6: THE EU FOREST LAW ENFORECEMENT, GOVERNANCE AND TRADE ACTION PLAN

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By X. Sun
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To build on a commitment taken at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, in May 2003 the Commission published an EU Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). Council Conclusions were adopted in October 2003, and the European Parliament motion on the FLEGT action plan was adopted in February 2004. The Action Plan sets out a new and innovative approach to tackling illegal logging and associated trade, which links the push for good governance in developing countries with the legal instruments and leverage offered by the EU’s own internal market. The core components of the Action Plan are support for improved governance in wood-producing countries, and a licensing scheme to ensure only legal timber enters the EU. This licensing scheme will initially be implemented
on a voluntary (but binding) basis, through a series of partnerships with wood-producing countries. Other areas where the Commission
proposes action include co-operation with other major consumer markets, such as the US and Japan, to stop the trade illegally-harvested
timber; and efforts to ensure on legally-harvested timber is sourced through public procurement contracts in the EU.