Tag Archive for: deforestation

La Unión Europea y Honduras acuerdan combatir la tala ilegal y promover el comercio de madera legal

Honduras y la Unión Europea (UE) firman un acuerdo sobre la aplicación de leyes, gobernanza y comercio forestales. El acuerdo garantizará que toda la madera y productos derivados hondureños importados a la UE tengan un origen legal y dispongan de autorización.

Jutta Urpilainen (UE) y Roberto Ochoa Madrid (Honduras) firmando el AVA. Fuente: Comisión Europea

El acuerdo voluntario de asociación (AVA) fue firmado el 23 de febrero por el embajador de Portugal, Nuno Brito, la comisaria europea de Asociaciones Internacionales, Jutta Urpilainen, y el embajador de Honduras, Roberto Ochoa Madrid. Entrará en vigor cuando ambas partes lo hayan ratificado de acuerdo con sus procedimientos internos.

Honduras es el primer país latinoamericano en firmar un acuerdo voluntario de asociación con la UE en el marco del Plan de Acción para la Aplicación de Leyes, Gobernanza y Comercio Forestales (FLEGT, por sus siglas en inglés).

Según establece el acuerdo, Honduras pondrá en marcha mecanismos sólidos para garantizar que la madera producida en el país se obtenga legalmente. De este modo, se creará un sistema de seguimiento de la legalidad que permita evaluar la producción de madera en Honduras con criterios similares a los establecidos en el Reglamento de la madera de la UE.

Este proceso favorece las metas comerciales y de desarrollo sostenible de la UE y contribuirá al objetivo más amplio de reducir la tala ilegal.

Author: FLEGT.org Info

EU and Honduras agree deal to combat illegal logging, promote trade in legal timber

Honduras and the European Union (EU) have reached an agreement on forest law enforcement, governance and trade in timber products. The agreement will ensure that all Honduran timber and timber products imported in the EU are legally sourced and licensed.

Authorities from the European Commission (left) and Honduras (right) signing the Honduras-EU VPA. Source: European Commission

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) was signed on 23 February by the Portuguese Ambassador Nuno Brito, European Commissioner for international partnerships Jutta Urpilainen and the Ambassador of Honduras Roberto Ochoa Madrid. It will enter into force after each Party has ratified it in line with their internal procedures.

Honduras is the first Latin American country to sign a voluntary partnership agreement with the EU under the Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

As per the agreement, Honduras will develop robust mechanisms to ensure locally produced timber is legally obtained. A timber legality assurance system will be set up to assess Honduran timber logging with requirements similar to the ones set in the EU Timber Regulation.

This process enhances the EU’s sustainable development and trade goals and will contribute to the broader objective of reducing illegal logging.

Author: FLEGT.org Info

EU rules on illegal logging and deforestation impact of EU market products: Have your say

The European Commission has launched public consultations on the functioning of the EU Timber Regulation and the FLEGT Regulation, and the deforestation impact of products placed on the EU market.

Two key EU regulations to fight illegal logging, the Forest law enforcement, governance and trade regulation (FLEGT) and the EU timber regulation (EUTR), will be evaluated. According to the Commission, the EUTR and FLEGT Regulation “fitness check” will “look at the effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU added value of both regulations in contributing to the fight against illegal logging.” As the regulations are closely related, the Commission is carrying out a common evaluation to assess whether they are fit for purpose.

Opportunity for feedback is open until 26 November 2020.

The Deforestation and Forest Products Impact Assessment will contribute to an impact assessment investigating the suitability of “different demand-side measures to address deforestation and forest degradation associated with EU consumption”. The consultation will gather stakeholder opinions on potential additional measures to reduce the impact of products placed on the EU market.

Opportunity for feedback is open until 10 December 2020. 

Author: FLEGT.org Info