Many progress took place at the second annual meeting on 19 February 2021. The FLEGT-VPA ad-hoc working group (AHWG) pushes forward the annex drafting, regulatory reform to prepare for this year’s negotiation with the EU.
To develop an integrated electronic system to strengthen timber supply chain control in Thailand, Mr. Tanongsak Nontapa, Director of the Forest Economics Bureau, introduced the digital transports permit system. The system will allow tree owners to issue transport permits online. It encompasses all the processes from application to official approval. The system will be officially launched on 1 May 2021. When the RFD Single Window is fully developed, the digital transports permit system will be linked to all the databases under the Single Window, ensuring that all the supply chain points are digitally documented.
After two years of close collaboration between the government, private, and civil society sector, the sub-working group has adopted the self-declaration guideline for declaring timber grown on private land and delivered the guideline to the Royal Forest Department (RFD), who will implement it. Once announced, private land tree owners will able to declare the legality of their timber themselves and use the declaration form to accompany timber transportation from the harvest point. This process will strengthen the supply chain of timber from private land.
Following the Third Thai-EU Negotiation, Thailand will submit the draft concept note of the import control system to the EU to organize a joint workshop. The meeting has approved the current draft, which was designed based on the due diligence process. The due diligence process is a step taken by the importers to assess the timber supply chain’s legality before importing to Thailand. The draft also laid out the government’s role in facilitating import control. Point of import is an essential point of control to ensure that all timber in the Thai supply chain is legal according to Thai law and the exporting countries’ law.
The current THA-TLAS and Thai Supply Chain Controls annex draft will be completed and ready to submit to the EU soon. The AHWG is revising the sections on the control of the confiscated timber, the third partied independent audit in THA-TLAS and the institutional and system development for implementing THA-TLAS/FLEGT license.
Following FLEGT VPA’s goals to improve law and strengthen governance to strengthen legal timber trade in Thailand, progress has continually been achieved. RFD is in the process of amending export regulation to reduce timber and timber product export tax. The Department of Foreign Trade works closely with the RFD on the import of timber and timber product regulation.
Mr. Vijarn Sensakul, Director of the Legal Office, Royal Forest Department, who is the main driver of the FLEGT VPA, reported that the Master Plan of the Royal Forest Department has put on a plan to amend a legal definition of the sawn mill, the chainsaw regulation, and the Forest Plantation Act. These amendments will support legal logging and timber trade and promote benefit sharing in the Thai timber sector.
