The agreement covers a licensing system for wood products exported from Indonesia to any of the 28 EU member countries based on the Timber Legality Verification System.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and the European Union have officially signed the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT-VPA).

Indonesian Forestry Minister Zukifli Hasan, EU Commissioner for the Environment Janez Potocnik, and Lithuania`s Environment Minister Valentinas Mazuronis, acting in his capacity as president of the European Union, signed the agreement in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday.

Zulkifli said the agreement was an important strategic breakthrough for cooperation among producing and consuming countries, especially Indonesia and countries in the EU, in their mutual fight against illegal logging and trade.

"The agreement states that the two parties will not tolerate illegal logging operations or the trade of timber gained from illegal logging activities. It also reflects the commitment of the two parties to promoting legally certified timber," the minister explained in a press statement received here that day.

The FLEGT-VPA, he remarked, is aimed at stopping the trade of illegal wood and ensuring that only certified wood and wood products are imported by the EU from Indonesia.

The agreement covers a licensing system for wood products exported from Indonesia to any of the 28 EU member countries based on the Timber Legality Verification System.

The system guarantees the legality of the Indonesian timber and is the first of its kind anywhere in the world to meet the specifications of the FLEGT principles.

As soon as the FLEGT-VPA is fully operational and a FLEGT license is issued, Indonesian wood products will be declared in compliance with EU Timber Regulation Number 995/2012, which bans the distribution of illegal wood products in EU markets.

Businessmen in the EU will not have to conduct due diligence on wood products that are licensed by FLEGT.

EU Commissioner Janez Potocnik hailed the signing of the agreement as proof of Indonesia and the EU`s ability to jointly overcome illegal logging and the trade of illegally gained timber.

"The agreement will have a good impact on the environment and will lead to responsible business practices; it will also improve consumer confidence in timber from Indonesia," he said.

The signing of the agreement will lead to Indonesia and the EU starting the process of ratification ahead of the full implementation of the FLEGT-VPA, which will happen automatically once the parties find that the FLEGT licensing scheme is ready.

The president-director of PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP), Kusnan Rahmin, meanwhile noted that the business community in Indonesia was ready to support the implementation of the agreement.

He hoped the agreement would have a positive effect on the country`s exports of forestry products to the EU.

"A good export performance would open up more jobs and improve the people`s welfare," he claimed.

He stated that he had possessed SVLK-based certificates for sustainable-production forest management and proof of timber legality since 2010.

"The two certificates prove that wood from the RAPP timber forests is not only legal but also comes from sustainably managed forests," he said. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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