Press Release

20 July 2004

UK welcomes European moves to stop illegal logging

Gareth Thomas, international development minister, and Elliot Morley, environment minister have welcomed today's announcement by the European Commission of new moves to stop illegally logged timber being imported into Europe.

The UK will strongly endorse the innovative measures - including a new EU regulation - to prevent illegal timber from entering the European market. The package includes partnerships with wood-producing countries and a licensing scheme to ensure that only legal timber from these countries is allowed into the EU. Until now there has been no practical mechanism for identifying and excluding illegal timber from the EU market. The UK will also press for the Commission to complete a review of wider legislative options to tackle the trade in illegally logged timber as soon as possible.

Gareth Thomas, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development (DFID) said:

"Illegal logging is a global problem that has enormous economic, social and environmental impacts. It costs governments, mainly in developing countries, billions of dollars annually in lost revenue - an amount that dwarfs development assistance to these countries. The World Bank estimates that illegal logging results in $10-15 billion per year in lost revenue.

"Illegal logging degrades the environment and contributes to the loss of biodiversity. It also robs poor people of the sources of their livelihoods. These people are often among the most marginalised. Under current trends - especially in Africa - they are likely to depend on forest resources for another generation or more.

"In some countries illegal logging can even feed regional and civil conflicts. The proceeds from illegal timber are thought to have fuelled much of the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is also true of Liberia as well as Cambodia in South-east Asia."

Minister for Environment, Elliot Morley said:

"This is an important step in international efforts to combat illegal logging: the EU, including the UK, is a significant importer of timber and shares responsibility with timber-producing countries to tackle illegal logging and its associated trade. We are determined to ensure we have effective legal powers in the EU to deal with this.

"Under the proposals countries that sign voluntary partnerships with the EU will benefit from having an additional weapon to control illegal logging in their forests; their legitimate timber producers may also gain greater market share in the EU to meet a growing demand for proven legally-produced timber.

The UK timber industry supports these moves. The Timber Trade Federation has published a Code of Conduct and is now working with other European trade federations to employ the full leverage of the European market to demand legal timber. Industry leaders such as B&Q and Travis Perkins, are working hard to source legal supplies and promote good forest management.

Notes to Editors

1. The EU Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and rade (FLEGT) describes the nature and scale of the illegal logging problem and specifies a range of solutions that the EU could adopt, including the regulation and voluntary partnership agreements. The Action Plan was endorsed by the European Council and Parliament in October 2003, and the UK has been a key player in driving forward its implementation. DFID and DEFRA, together with FCO, have collaborated closely throughout this process.

2. DFID supports developing countries in Africa and Asia to strengthen their forest governance and trade. In particular, DFID is supporting regional initiatives, including the development of voluntary partnership agreements under the EU Action Plan. DFID is also supporting civil society and private sector initiatives - in developing countries and in the UK - so that people can hold their governments to account and make forest markets work better for the poor. DFID's aim is to help governments make forest resources contribute more effectively to poverty reduction and ensure that the livelihoods of poor people who depend on forests are protected.

3. In October 2003, DFID, Defra and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provided cross-Whitehall support to the African Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) Conference, held in Yaounde, Cameroon.

4. Examples of DFID work include Cameroon, where DFID is working with the Government of Cameroon and other donors to improve its capacity to manage resources and to help communities manage forest resources themselves - and benefit more from forest revenues. In Ghana the government has been a strong advocate in international processes to improve forest law enforcement and governance and played a pivotal role in the Africa Forest Law Enforcement and Governance process (AFLEG). DFID will be supporting West and Central African timber producing countries to develop voluntary partnership agreements with the EU.

5. European Commission press release

For further information please contact Paul Dyett, DFID press office on 020 7023 0600 or e-mail pressofffice@dfid.gov.uk

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