1 / 12

Stuart Wilson REM 69a Lensfield Road Cambridge CB2 1EN, UK rem.uk mail@rem.uk

Stuart Wilson REM 69a Lensfield Road Cambridge CB2 1EN, UK www.rem.org.uk mail@rem.org.uk Tel: 00(44)1223 314 589 Fax: 00(44)1223 359 048. Issues to Cover. Relationship between IM-FLEG and FLEG-T Information flows Institutional Arrangements Potential problems

oliver
Download Presentation

Stuart Wilson REM 69a Lensfield Road Cambridge CB2 1EN, UK rem.uk mail@rem.uk

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Stuart Wilson REM 69a Lensfield Road Cambridge CB2 1EN, UK www.rem.org.uk mail@rem.org.uk Tel: 00(44)1223 314 589 Fax: 00(44)1223 359 048

  2. Issues to Cover • Relationship between IM-FLEG and FLEG-T • Information flows • Institutional Arrangements • Potential problems • Evolution in illegality • The need for consultation

  3. Independent Monitoring of Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in Cameroon (IM-FLEG) • Work with government services in the field and the office • We publish our findings (field and thematic reports: - www.rem.org.uk) • Make recommendations for a way forward

  4. FLEG-T and IM-FLEG • The existence of an IM-FLEG type project is previewed as being an element of VPAs • The findings of an IM should be considered in the Verification of Legal Origin (VLO) process • When the IM (or other) documents/reports a suspected offence or breach of procedure • When A PV (Official Statement of Offence) is established • When the defendant is found guilty

  5. Institutional arrangements (IM-FLEG) + (FLEG-T/VPA) > IM-FLEG-T is: IM-FLEG-T = VLObody I would suggest that this is not trueand that there are several variables missing from the equation. Including: CBOs, NGOs, PS and GLES&OPOTA

  6. Log tracking organisations, Certification bodies and processes Independent Monitoring (IM-FLEG) Organisations monitoring exports (SGS) local and international NGOs, CBOs Others Government services: SIGIF and SIGICOF Private sector Certificate of Legal Origin Information flows Government services: SIGIF and… SIGICOF VLO Audit body responsible for checks against identified criteria

  7. Current FLEG issues in Cameroon • The VPA process should be aware of the general state of play in the sector. • Problems with SIGIF • SIGIF is seen as a key system in the control and verification of documentation: • Used exclusively for tax collection purposes (5th quarterly report) • Many titles allocated outside of procedures are registered in SIGIF. (See Mission report No.31 which looks at over 30 titles) which undermines the credibility of the SIGIF data.

  8. Evolution of suspected infractions • From: large scale logging out of bounds (The famous case of FMU 10-030 and SFH) • In Sale of Standing Volume and Timber Recovery titles, logging out of limits remains a problem. • To: Document based fraud Including in FMUs and Community Forests: • None of the 30 Timber Recovery Permits investigated in Mission report No.31 had an EIA. 83% had no inventory. 66% were allocated for timber already felled (illegally) – paperwork allocated is used for laundering timber in transport. • 11 out of 19 logging sites visited had not respected Article 125 of the decree of application which requires daily completion of field documents, leading to tax loss

  9. Database of investigations and legal cases • The concept was presented in 2002, delivered in March 2005. It has not been used, no data has been entered into the system. • SIGICOF should be a valuable source of information to VPA implementation • The case of FMU 10 030 raises interesting questions for VLO and the standards to be applied • Further training was provided yesterday after a change of staff in the Ministry

  10. Conclusions • That any proposed system should have a solid base • SIGIF needs work • SIGICOF needs implementing • The VLO process should consider a wide range of inputs, including those of Independent Monitoring projects • The VLO body should be ‘pro-active’ in its approach • There should be greater (breadth and depth) consultation in country on the VPA and implementing mechanisms • These comments should be taken as constructive criticism and the presentation of issues that need consideration to achieve the goals set for FLEGT

  11. Independent Monitor’s Findings • There are three different project outputs • Mission reports: which could feed directly into FLEGT VLO bodies • Quarterly reports: which provide detailed thematic analysis • Annual reports: providing an overview of the year’s activities

  12. All reports can be found atwww.rem.org.ukThank you

More Related