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EU procurement policies: Current state

EU procurement policies: Current state . Sofie Tind Nielsen, Proforest West Africa Forest Governance Forum 7 th -8 th June 2011, Accra, Ghana. Proforest

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EU procurement policies: Current state

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  1. EU procurement policies: Current state Sofie Tind Nielsen, Proforest West Africa Forest Governance Forum 7th-8th June 2011, Accra, Ghana

  2. Proforest An independent, not-for-profit organisation which help companies, government departments, non-governmental and civil society organisations to achieve the sustainable use of the world’s natural resources. The Central Point of Expertise on Timber Operated by Proforest and funded by UK Government Provide information on the UK Government’s timber procurement policy requirements, the EU Timber Regulation and the FLEGT Regulation Advise on how public sector buyers and their suppliers and contractors can meet the policy and the regulations.

  3. EU Timber market EU is the largest consumer of timber products in the world 14% of imports from tropical zones ~26% by volume 53% of Africa’s total export value to EU UK is 4th biggest net importer of wood products after US, China and Japan The WWF estimate that up to 20% of Europe's timber imports are from illegal sources. Source: EU Market conditions for ‘verified legal’ and.., Oliver (2009)

  4. TIMBER The EU FLEGT Action Plan European Commission’s 2003 Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade FLEGT • Recognise that the behaviour of European companies and governments purchasing wood and wood products from suppliers in Africa, Asia or South America can have a significant impact on logging practises. • Link good governance with the legal trade instruments and influence offered by the EU’s internal market. 

  5. FLEGT action plan key components • Support to timber exporting countries • Activities to promote trade in legal timber, including Voluntary Partnership Agreements • Promoting public procurement policies • Support for private sector initiatives • Safeguards for financing and investment • Use of existing legislative instruments or adaption of new legislation e.g. the EU Timber Regulation  • Addressing the problem of conflict timber proforest.net Source: FLEGT Briefing Note 2 http://www.euflegt.efi.int/uploads/Briefingnote2

  6. Public procurement policies ~66% of total EU import of tropical saw logs and veneer logs • Public procurement policy for timber • Some Green Public Procurement (GPP) • Product based requirements for timber in place or under development Source: EU Market conditions for ‘verified legal’ and.., Oliver (2009)

  7. Effect of the public procurement policies • Significant spill-over effect on private sector with alignment of requirements • Indirect implementation of policy by private sector • Mandatory for furniture and paper via central government framework contracts. • Source: EU market conditions for “verified legal” and “verified legal and sustainable” wood products, FFI, 2009

  8. The requirements of the public policies The long-term aim of the FLEGT Action Plan is sustainable forest management.

  9. Sustainability requirements (in broad outline) For details see www.cpet.org.uk/international-context/international-policies-1

  10. Evidence accepted • National schemes relevant for NL market assessed.

  11. Certification schemes -Category A evidence UK Assessed against the sustainability criteria + criteria for the standard-setting process, certification, accreditation and chain of custody Bi-annual review of accepted schemes and of other relevant schemes • Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) • Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC) • 28 endorsed national schemes UK CPET assessment results, 2010

  12. Certification schemes -Category A evidence UK Forest Management Certificate Invoice Chain of Custody Certificates Certificate number to be checked online and invoice/delivery note to be checked at delivery

  13. Availability of certified timber 25% of import to EU is likely to have derived from a certified source Certified wood in the UK supply chain grew from 65% in 2006 to an estimated 85% in 2010 Tropical timber: estimated 20% certified in UK Source: EU Market conditions for ‘verified legal’ and.., Oliver (2009) and UK TTF (2009)

  14. Other types of credible evidence-Category B evidence UK • Evidence that shows • Traceability through supply chain (CoC) • Compliance with legality and sustainability criteria • Equivalent to Category A evidence • Assessed on a case-by-case basis

  15. Preparing Category B evidence Checklist 1 Supply chain information Risk assessment Legality: Checklist 2 (Forest source information on legality) Sustainability: Checklist 3 (Forest source information on sustainability)

  16. Legality in UK • Only where no Sustainable or FLEGT-licensed or alternative timber is available, will evidence ensuring legality only be accepted • Preference will here be given to timber from sources that are demonstrably in an active programme to improve and certify forest management

  17. Legal sources UK Government definition • Have legal use right to the forest • Comply with all local and national laws relevant to forest operation, environment, labour, health and safety and tenure rights • Pay all relevant royalties and taxes • Respect CITES requirements The organisation that fells the trees shall:

  18. Legality verification systems There are several verification schemes that may provide adequate assurance of legality for example: OLB (Origine et Légalité des Bois) SmartWood VLC SGS TLTV See the Proforest overview of legality verification systems

  19. The policies and FLEGT licensing To what extent can the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) help to deliver the objectives of public procurement policies? proforest.net

  20. Wider policy context and objectives Legality Sustainability Governance Biodiversity Development proforest.net

  21. Sustainability in a PPP context Definitions of sustainability are based on internationally agreed criteria for sustainable forest management Focus specifically on compliance at the level of the forest management unit (FMU) 1 The Pan-European Operational Level Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management, as endorsed by the Lisbon Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (2–4 June 1998); the UNCED Forest Principles (Rio de Janeiro, June 1992); and the ITTO Criteria and Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management.

  22. FLEGT and sustainability • FLEGT operates in countries with poor governance • Four ways VPAs can contribute to sustainability • Scope • Impact • Reducing barriers • Leakage proforest.net

  23. Scope • Some aspects of sustainability can be delivered at the FMU-level • Other aspects have to be delivered at a larger scale landscape or even national proforest.net

  24. Impact • Sustainable management at a FMU-level can go well beyond legal requirements • However in countries with limited area being sustainably managed the impact is also limited • Where legal requirements are delivered across the entire national forest sector the overall impact may be substantial proforest.net

  25. Situation with poor governance Total forested area covered by VPA proforest.net

  26. Situations with improved governance Total forested area covered by VPA Total forested area covered by VPA Sustainability beyond forests + Good governance + Increased capacity + Transparency + Supply chain traceability proforest.net

  27. Reducing barriers to implementing SFM proforest.net

  28. Leakage Creating small areas of sustainable management, where wider governance is poor, can result in leakage – or indirect land use change. Bad practice is driven from well managed areas to areas with fewer controls resulting no net gain for sustainability (e.g. Biofuels and REDD). proforest.net

  29. Contribution of FLEGT VPAs to sustainability-based on experience with signed VPAs • Multi-stakeholder processes including governments • Clear and transparent requirements • Promote good governance of the forest sector • Delivering greater sustainability across the forest sector • Independent monitoring • Management beyond the FMU • Long term impact VPA FMU Certification proforest.net

  30. In conclusion The FLEGT VPA process support sustainable management of forests in ways that are different from but complementary to the certification schemes and other FMU-level approaches already recognised in Member States’ public purchasing policies. proforest.net

  31. Work towards enforcing legislation as a first step with the aim of ensuring sustainability Join the FLEGT VPA process And encourage forest certification Recommendations

  32. Thank you www.proforest.net sofie@proforest.net proforest.net

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