EU FLEGT Initiativeand

ENPI FLEG Project in RussiaElena Kulikova,

Forest Programme Director, WWF Russia

Chisinau, July, 13

EU FLEGT and

Status of the Regulations

Illegal Logging and EU Response

• EU FLEGT Action Plan (2003)• FLEGT Regulation (2005)

– Voluntary Partnership Agreement• 2008: Proposal for a Regulation

– On obligations of operators placing timber and timber products on EU market

Regional response

• 2005 Europe and North Asia FLEG Conference

EU FLEGT Action Plan

2003 FLEGT Action PlanAim: address illegal logging and related

trade combining supply and demand measures:– Development cooperation– Public procurement policies– Private sector initiatives– FLEGT voluntary partnership agreements– Other legislative measures

New “Due diligence” Proposal • Obligation: operators to demonstrate “due

diligence” in ensuring the legality of the product they put on the EU market. Traders after first placing on market to keep records, allowing for traceability.

• Prohibition: prohibited to place illegally harvested timber or timber products on EU market for first time

• Legality: legislation applicable in country of harvest

• EU operators have to demonstrate due diligence by:– Having access to information eg on country of harvest and

legal compliance– Conducting risk assessment/ mitigation

• Systems: traders may use their own risk management systems or use systems run by recognised organisations

• FLEGT and CITES timber considered legal

Adoption of the “Due Diligence” Regulation

• Commission adopted the legislative proposal October 2008

• European Parliament proposed 75 amendments to the proposal (April 2009) and Council of the EU adopted its position in March 2010

• Negotiation between Council and Parliament led to a compromise proposal. Large majority of the Parliament voted in favour of it (July 7, 2010)

• Council likely to adopt Regulation October 2010• Entry into application likely early 2013

What Might This Mean for Exporters to EU?

• Identify relevant legislation in country of harvest and how to demonstrate compliance

• Work with EU importers. They may make new contract conditions concerning legality compliance

• Traceability

Russian export by types of wood products (2008)

Wood pulp25.4% Round wood

60.4%

Sawnwood10.3%

Other0.4%

Paper3.5%

Russian wood products export (2008)

China31%

Finland12%Japan

6%

Others26%

Sweden1%

Ukraine3%

Turkey3%

Germany4% Egypt

4%Uzbekistan

4%

Kazakhstan4%

Azerbayjan2%

Share of Russian export of forest products to China (2008)

0

2 000 000

4 000 000

6 000 000

8 000 000

10 000 000

12 000 000

14 000 000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

tho

u U

SD

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

%

Total Russian Export of Forest Products Russian Export of Forest Products to China China's Share

• No/limited information on new EU regulation• Task Force on Law Enforcement and

Governance meeting in the framework of EU-Russia Dialog (September, 2009)

• Need to disseminate information about new EU legislation initiatives among forest stakeholders in Russia through ENPI FLEG project ( WWF Russia role)

Russia: Background

Roundtable

«Efforts to improve the Russian forest legislation and the EU’s initiatives to

combat trade in illegally harvested timber and its processing products»,

Moscow, March 26, 2010.

• WWF Russia• In partnership with the Natural Resource

Management and Environment Committee of Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in their premises

• World Bank (ideological and financial support)

Organizers

• More than 80, representing:– Russian federal legislative authorities (Council of the Federation and the

State Duma ), – Russian federal executive authorities (Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, Federal Forestry Agency), – Russian regional executive authorities (Arkhangelsk, Karelia, Vologda)– Environment Directorate General of the European Commission– diplomatic missions of European countries in Russia (Austria, Czech

Republic, Finland, Netherlands, Sweden)– forestry authorities of Belorussia and Ukraine– 17 timber, pulp and paper companies– World Bank, – international and Russian non-governmental organizations,– research institutions– mass media– ENPI FLEG consultants from Moldova and Ukraine

Broad range of participants

• Broad range of issues to be addressed to improve the Russian legislation governing forest relations, including:– EU initiatives to combat trade in illegally

harvested timber and its processing products– Russian national and sub-national initiatives

against illegal logging– Business initiatives against illegal logging– Civil society initiatives against illegal logging

Agenda

• Russian forest stakeholders are widely informed about new EU’s legislation initiatives

• Basis for further work on adaptation of Russian forest sector to meet the new EU’s requirements

• Consideration on necessary amendments to the Russian forest legislation

• Recommendations for: – Council of the Federation and the State Duma, – Government of the Russian Federation (including the

Ministry of Agriculture and Federal Forestry Agency),– regional public authorities,– international organizations

Outcomes

Resolution• Among the proposals:

– To take note of the EU’s new initiatives to combat trade in illegally harvested timber and its processing products, for purposes of drafting new laws to regulate legal relations in the forest sector

– To cause Russian laws to incorporate rules of law to confirm legality of exported timber, provisions/regulations on combating illegal logging and illegal timber trade and definitions of these notions

– To introduce criminal and administrative penalties for selling or buying illegal timber and include them in laws of the Russian Federation

• And others…

• Materials are used broadly in forest-related political agenda in Russia at federal and regional levels

• Interested parties invited WWF Russia to report on outcomes: – Regional Forest Forum in Arkhangelsk, April 7, 2010; – Workshop in Forestry Department of Northwest Federal District, Saint-

Petersburg, April 9, 2010; – Meeting of Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection,

Council of the Federation, Kostroma, May 19, 2010, arranged by the Committee in partnership with the World Bank;

– Parliamentary hearings on development of voluntary forest certification in Russia, Committee for Natural Resources, State Duma, Moscow, May 20, 2010

– “Interles” Forestry Forum, S.-Petersburg, June, 23, 2010– Roundtable “State and corporate wood tracebility systems”, Pushkino, June,

24, 2010

Additional Results and “Multiplying Effect”

Parliamentary hearings

on development of voluntary forest certification in Russia,

Committee for Natural Resources, State Duma,

Moscow, May 20, 2010

• State Council meeting on the environmental issues under the RF President Dmitry Medvedev Chairmanship on May, 27, 2010

• WWF Russia participation and set of proposals including those on forest sector

• All the proposals are taken into account and included into the list of suggestions the Russian Government should be charged for

• They are relevant to ENPI FLEG program national priorities: – to formulate proposals on forest law regulation improvement,– to strengthen prosecution measures for forest law violation and in

particular for illegal logging, – to stimulate effective forest management, – to reduce administrative burdens for business and eliminate

preconditions for corruption and some others

One of the Most Important Political Outcome

• EU legislation will come into force….• Aim:

– to present more detailed information– to identify potential impacts on Russian regulatory

bodies, timber industries and trading companies– to discuss further improvement of the Russian

forest federal and regional legislation and its enforcement on the ground, and to meet potential EU requirements, including possible voluntary initiatives

• Possible role of ENPI FLEG Programme

Further Work

ekulikova@wwf.ru