(ENG) TEFSO E- Newsletter NO.19 (JUL-SEP'19) - Thai-EU FLEGT Secretariat Office (TEFSO)

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NO. 19 July – September 2019

TEFSO NEWSLETTER

Thai – EU FLEGT Secretariat Office

FLEGT in Focus

Thailand has been holding meetings to develop a draft annex to negotiate on FLEGT VPA with European Union, which includes Thai Timber Legality Assurance System (THA-TLAS) and Supply Chain Control (SCC) on Thai’s timber and their products. Moreover, we also discussed a practical methodology of Import Control (IC). It aims to develop a traceability system to ensure illegal timber would not enter into the chain. This system is new for the country, but might not be for some. Therefore, it is a challenge to establish; including the understanding and recognition of relevant stakeholders.
Furthermore, the Sub-Working Group was discussed on a draft regulation after the government unlocking restricted timber species on private land. At the same time, there has a Public land sub-Working Group is discussing the problem and challenging to suggest to relevant agencies further.

For the past nine months, 24 meetings were held: 16 Sub-Working Group meetings, 2 Technical Meeting with European Forest Institute, 1 Video Conference,

and 5 Ad-Hoc Working Group meetings. The total number of participants are 586, 321 male (57.78%) and 268 female (45.22%)

FLEGT Pitch in

The Thai Timber Association is one of business members that has been playing significant role on leading FLEGT VPA negotiation process in Thailand. They have volunteered to become a leader of Sub-Working Group on Import Control issue, which is considered as new issue for Thailand. The roles are include disseminate information on going issues, expressing ideas on legal logging, and participatory process to suggest a possible way to the government that will reduce an impact of change to the relevant traders.
Although the ideal of combatting illegal timber entering to the supply chain has been practicing for quite a while in other countries. Boosting up Thai’s competitiveness in the world’s timber market needs a lot of cooperation from every sector, for the ideal to become a practice in the near future.

When in (TH) Law

As the Thai Royal Forest Department (RFD) has been amending article 18/1, 18/2, and 18/3 of Forest Act 1941. As for the progress, article 18/1 has been approved from Thai Law Reform Commission. While article 18/2 is still on the process of procedure, and would be finalized by the end of September 2019. Though both articles are scheduled to be brought to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment by October 2019 for improvement.

However, article 18/3 is still in the process of discussion with the sub-committee, then to the Thai Law Reform Commission to approve them.

As article 7 of Forest Act 1941 has been in force, the legal timbers would be able to adopt article 18/1 for timber certification and 18/2 for exporting assurance. They are in the process of improvement and the outcome for

implementation will be around mid-October.
As for National Reserved Forest area, the RFD has been improving regulations on the use of the land:
1) Regulations for the land use utilization and settle under the Project of Land Utilization for Community according to the government policy.
2) The regulations to afforest that RFD has been improving article 16 (Project of Land Utilization for Community according to government policy) and article 20 (For afforest) of Forest Act 1941, however, they are still in consideration process of usage and rights of wood based on FLEGT rules and regulations.

Info. from Mr. Vicharn Sensakul
the director of Legal Act and
Contract Division, Legal Bureau
Royal Forest Department
17 September 2019

Around the Region

EU and Vietnam ratify agreement on illegal logging and trade in legal timber
The EU and Vietnam have ratified a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law ….

>>Read More<<

Vision for the Future

How importance is FLEGT process to Thailand? How would the future of forestry sector related to FLEGT in Thailand will be? In the view of Mrs. Utharat Sukasumek, …

Thai – EU FLEGT Secretariat Office (TEFSO)
50 Kasetsart University Alumni Association Building, Phaholyothin Road, Lad Yao, Chatuchak
Bangkok 10900
Tel. 02-561-5102 – 3 Fax 02-940-5676

Our mailing address is:
tefso.rfd@tefso.org

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(ENG) TEFSO E- Newsletter NO.19 (JUL-SEP’19)

(ENG) TEFSO E- Newsletter NO.19 (JUL-SEP’19)