22 July 2021 – the Seventh FLEGT VPA Ad Hoc Working Group Meeting was held to:
- review the progress of the Product Scope, Import Control, and Public Disclosure of Information sub-working groups;
- assess the findings and recommendation of the Asian Institute of Technology’s project under the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme “Technological Solutions for Harmonizing Existing Systems to Enhance Traceability of Timber in Thailand”;
- and deliberate the draft guideline for certifying products made from recycled components.
The Ad Hoc Working Group agreed with the draft guidelines for recycled content certification to fill the regulatory gap and promote its industry and trade especially the paper and pulp product group which widely uses recycled content. Since recycled products will be exempted from THA-TLAS and FLEGT license, the certification will step in to verify the products and inform Customs at the destination market of the product status. The draft will be sent to the FLEGT Asia Programme for further comments.
The “Technological Solutions for Harmonizing Existing Systems to Enhance Traceability of Timber in Thailand” project is drawing to completion in 5 weeks. AIT, head of the project, reported the findings and technological recommendations. From the study, AIT suggested that electronic tools and systems are essential for recording timber data in every supply chain control point for the purpose of timber import certification. Currently, AIT is in the process of developing a mobile application for use by Royal Forest Department (RFD) officers during field visits. For a continued collaboration, AIT has signed an MOU with RFD, which in the next phase, AIT will move to develop a web application for timber import certification and mobile application for use by operators and Royal Forest Department officers to input timber information all through the supply chain.
With close collaboration amongst the working group members and with the FLEGT Asia Programme, the Product Scope Annex, Public Disclosure of Information Annex, and Import Control Concept Paper are near completion for the 4th Thailand-EU Negotiation in December.
