Thailand and the European Union (EU) have held the second round of negotiations on a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). The agreement, and the process through which it is developed, will help improve forest governance, address illegal logging and promote trade in verified legal timber products to the EU and other markets.
The FLEGT VPA negotiations took place in Bangkok on 19 July 2018. Thailand was represented by Mr. WIJARN SIMACHAYA, lead negotiator and Permanent Secretary of the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The EU was represented by Mr. Jorge RODRIGUEZ ROMERO, lead negotiator and Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission Directorate General for Environment.
As part of the FLEGT VPA, Thailand will develop a national system for ensuring the legality of timber and timber products. Thailand is designing the system through consultation with stakeholders from the government, private sector and civil society. The FLEGT process in Thailand is associated with significant legal reforms such as a review of the Forest Act of 1941. Ongoing reforms also linked to the FLEGT process target the promotion of community forestry and tree-planting and timber-harvesting by farmers on private lands.
This week’s negotiations focused on the following issues:
- The legal text of the agreement
- The product scope of the VPA
- The ongoing development of the Thai definition of the principles, criteria and verifiers to determine the compliance with legal requirements for timber following field tests in 2017
- Thailand’s timber supply chain controls
- A system for ensuring that timber imported to Thailand has been harvested legally in the country of harvest
Thailand and the EU also agreed on a roadmap of joint activities and technical meetings in preparation for the third round of negotiations, currently planned for June-July 2019.
Mr. WIJARN SIMACHAYA, lead VPA negotiator and Permanent Secretary of the Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said: “The VPA is an opportunity for Thailand to strengthen trade with the EU and other markets, while improving forest governance and promoting sustainable forest management. At the same time, this is a good opportunity to learn and exchange experiences in National forest management of Thailand which is aiming to improve people’s life quality, to best reserve and sustainably take benefit from Forest resources with governance.”
Mr. Jorge RODRIGUEZ ROMERO, Deputy Head of Unit, European Commission Directorate General for Environment, said: “We welcome the progress that Thailand has made on key elements of the design of its VPA timber legality assurance system and look forward to maintain our close cooperation towards a successful conclusion of negotiations. We encourage Thailand to continue to engage with stakeholders from the private sector and civil society to ensure that the VPA is robust, practical and effective.”
VPAs are a key component of the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, which aims to combat illegal logging, promote sustainable forest management and ensure that forests contribute to sustainable development and efforts to address climate change and biodiversity loss. Fifteen countries are negotiating or implementing VPAs with the EU.
Based on experiences in other VPA processes, the EU and Thailand recognise that negotiating and implementing the VPA is a significant undertaking that will entail technical, legal, and governance advances and, to this end, are committed to maintain their close cooperation at technical and policy level.
