FLEGT VPA and the concept of Thailand’s import control

 

Beyond controlling the legality and supply chain of timber produced in Thailand, FLEGT VPA also aims Thailand to become a force against illegal logging committed in the trading partner countries by stopping the import of timber sourced and produced in violation of the countries of origin. While Thailand already has an import control system jointly overseen by Customs Department and the Royal Forest Department, the current import control has not taken into account timber’s legal compliance with the countries of origin. Moreover, a requirement for a certificate of origins or any other certificate is also limited to only a few neighboring countries. As a result, the status of compliance with the law of the countries of origin is uncertain, traceability back to the harvest point is unclear, leading to illegal timber unknowingly being imported to Thailand.

In joining the FLEGT VPA process, Thailand got the opportunity to improve its import control system to be able to check the compliance of timber and timber products with the law of the countries of origin. The FLEGT VPA Ad-hoc Working Group with members from relevant state departments, operators, and civil society organizations has developed the import control concept paper from the EU Timber Regulation’s model and is based on Thailand’s context. The guideline will introduce the concept called ‘due diligence’ to require operators to assess and mitigate the risk of timber before importing to Thailand, which will prevent operators from importing illegal timber unwittingly.

Many countries such as the United States, Australia, Korea, and the European Union, and VPA countries like Indonesia have implemented the due diligence import control system. To illustrate Thailand’s concept on import control, we compile the similarities and differences between the import control system used by the European Union, the United States, and Thailand’s concept in the table below.