Inventory of possible measures against import of illegal timber

Despite ten years of policy making and public discussion on the issue of sustainable forest management and the role of the different stakeholders (incl. the private sector), no advances have been made to tackle the problem of illegal timber. Timber that is cut within a protected area, without any management plan or without the necessary paper work in the producing country, has to be considered as illegal. However, this timber cannot be stopped from being imported into the Netherlands. The aim of this project is to make an analysis of this problem, and discuss the various options for policy action to bring to a solution this problem. This project is a co-operation between NC-IUCN, ICCO and Greenpeace/NL, with FoE/NL.

Two reports are produced, respectively De verantwoordelijkheden en mogelijkheden voor Nederland binnen de internationale context, and Instruments to tackle illegal logging and trade of wood and wood products. The first is an inventory of the various regulatory instruments that are being applied or which are being proposed in the various producer countries as well as consumer countries, inclusive an analysis of these instruments and a determination of their applicability. The other is a policy document on the responsibilities and opportunities of the Netherlands in an international context, inclusive of conclusions and recommendations. Co-operation between different NGOs on the subject of illegal logging (NC-IUCN, ICCO and Greenpeace/NL, with FoE/NL). This project contributes to the conservation of tropical rainforest by stimulating NGOs in a common approach to the problem of illegal logging. The policy document on the responsibilities and opportunities of the Netherlands will serve as a guidance document for the NGO lobby. The participating NGOs agreed on a follow-up to influence The Hague politics through networking and workshops. So the project was extended to November 2003 to write letters to politicians and to lobby.