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Huge Illegal Logging losses - Time for Dialogue

According to the World Bank the annual global market value of losses from illegal cutting of forests exceeds US$10 billion, causing annual losses in government revenues of about US$5 billion. Widespread failure of forest governance – characterized by illegal logging, associated illegal trade, and corruption – undermines country's attempts to achieve sustainable economic growth, social balance, and environmental protection. This is the main result of the report "Strengthening Forest Law Enforcement and Governance - Addressing a Systemic Constraint to Sustainable Development", released by the World Bank during its Annual Meetings in September held in Singapore. In the light of the results of the report Katherine Sierra, Vice President for Sustainable Development, World Bank, pointed out: "With more than 90 percent of the 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty dependent on forests for some part of their livelihoods, good forest sector governance is integral to the Bank's mission of poverty reduction, and a key component of the Bank’s fight against corruption." Against the background of this situation a new international initiative on forest governance - the G8 Illegal Logging Dialogue - was launched during the meeting.

This Dialogue will be facilitated by GLOBE (Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment) and Com+, Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development with the support of the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development and a number of socially responsible companies. It will draw together legislators from the G8, China, India and other key timber producing countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil, and  Peru with senior timber industry representatives, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and opinion leaders to agree on a practical plan of action to address illegal logging. The plan will focus on the introduction of financial transparency, support for progressive companies committed to sustainable production and the development of a discerning market for legal and sustainable timber in the EU and G8 markets. In recent years, efforts to curtail forest sector crime have increased significantly; one example is the high-level ministerial regional Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) processes in East Asia (2001), Africa (2003), and Europe and North Asia (2005). (by Dennis Taenzler)

The complete report and additional information on FLEG is available at: http://www.worldbank.org/fleg
 
For more information, please see http://www.globeinternational.org/logging-about.html
and www.complusalliance.org

 

Published in: ECC-Newsletter, October 2006