The Fifteenth Meeting of the Working Group on a Pan ASEAN Timber Certification Initiative (15^th WG-PATCI) was held on 2-3 June 2016 in Thai Elephant Conservation Center, Lampang Province, THAILAND

The Meeting was attended by delegates from Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam and the representatives from ASEAN Secretariat. The European Union Forest Law Enforcement and Governance and Trade (EU-FLEGT) Facility, FAO-FLEGT Programme and Responsible Asia Forestry and Trade – The Nature Conservancy (RAFT-TNC) were also present at the Meeting.

In accordance with the ASEAN protocol, Mr. Sapol Boonsermsuk, Director of International Forestry Cooperation Royal Forest Department of Thailand and Dr. Bui Chinh Nghia, Deputy Director of Forest Production Management Department, Viet Nam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST), Viet Nam were unanimously elected as the Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively.

The main topics of the meeting are;

1. Matters arising from the 18^th Meeting of the ASEAN Senior Officials on Forestry (ASOF) and related ASEAN Meetings
2. Roadmap for an ASEAN Community
3. Vision and Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (SP-FAF), 2016-2025
4. Country progress reports: Criteria and Indicators (C&I) for legality of timber (or) forest management certification (and/or) implementation of timber certification and legality assurance systems and ASEAN CoC Guidelines
5. Information on a Stock Taking Study on Existing Initiatives for Ensuring Legal and Sustainable Timber in ASEAN
6. Information on a Stock Taking Study on Existing Initiatives for Ensuring Legal and Sustainable Timber in ASEAN
7. Streamlining of the Working Groups under ASOF
8. Exchange of Information and Experiences on Country Preparation for Negotiation with the EU on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA)
9. Presentation by RAFT-TNC
10. Proposal by EU FLEGT Facility on “Potential Collaboration and Support to ASEAN Cooperation in Forestry
11. Concept Note for FAO Regional Support to “Improved Compatibility and Synergies between Forestry Standards and Conformance Infrastructure in the ASEAN Region”
12. The need for the legal Certification of Origin (C/O) on exported products

The next Meeting of the Working Group on Pan ASEAN Timber Certification Initiative has tentatively been scheduled to be held in 2017 in Viet Nam. The exact date and venue of the Meeting will be informed to the Member States in due course.