Transcript Liberia-EU FLEGT VPA Progress of Negotiations

Liberia-EU FLEGT VPA
Charles K. Miller
Deputy Coordinator, Liberia
VPA Secretariat
Accra. June 7th
Introduction
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Liberia-EU VPA negotiations concluded on 9th May 2011.
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Overview of the Presentation
1.
2.
3.
History of Liberian Forest Sector
Overview of the VPA and how it has been developed
Next steps on implementing the VPA
Part 1: History of the Liberia
Forest Sector
History of the Liberia Forest Sector
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Commercial forestry started in Liberia in the late 1950s
The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) was created in
1976 by a special Act to manage the forestry sector
The Act also defined the following objectives of the sector:
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Establishing permanent forest estate made up of National Forests
and National Parks;
Optimizing the contribution of forestry to the national economy;
Increasing public involvement in forest conservation and
management through the creation of communal forests and agroforestry programs
History of the Liberia Forest Sector
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From 1976 until the imposition of UN sanctions in 2003,
the focus of the FDA was on allocation of concessions
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However, concession granting in Liberia during these
periods did not consider transparency issues, or issues
relating to environmental, or human rights concerns.
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The forestry sector was linked with weak governance
and corruption.
UN Sanctions on Liberia
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UN imposed sanctions on Liberian timber exports in 2003
that sought to address the following issues:
– Lack of transparency in allocation and granting of logging
concessions;
– Weak governance of the forest sector;
– Timber revenues fuelling armed conflict in Liberia and the
sub-region;
– Inequitable benefit-sharing scheme;
– Unfair labor practices;
– Tax evasion; etc.
UN Sanctions on Liberia
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The purpose and effect of the sanctions was to ban the
export of logs from Liberia until:
1)
Liberia reformed its forest sector management
practices to meet internationally accepted standards of
transparency & accountability;
2)
The government applied forest revenues to the benefit
of the Liberian people.
Forest Concession Review
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Forest Concession Review Committee established in 2004
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Not one of the seventy logging concessions reviewed
could demonstrate bare minimum compliance with legal
requirements, i.e. no operator had a legal right to log
Almost two and half times the entire forested surface
area of Liberia had been granted in concessions.
The concession holders owed the government over 64
million U. S. dollars in tax and other financial arrears.
Forest Concession Review
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FCRC recommended that the Government of Liberia:
– cancel all existing forest concessions, and suspend
the grant and allocation of future concessions;
– Conduct a package of legal/institutional reforms;
– Establish a Forest Reform Monitoring Committee
(FRMC) to monitor forest management reform, led by
the Forestry Development Authority (FDA); with the
participation and assistance of Liberian and
international representatives including civil society
organizations.
Liberia Forest Sector Reform
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Sanctions were lifted in 2006 when all conditions were in
place
Since 2006, there has been ongoing reform including:
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National Forestry Policy of 2006, National Forestry Reform Law
2006 and new regulations, plus revised Code of Harvesting
Practices;
Reform of the FDA resulting in significant down-sizing of staff
numbers and improved salary levels;
Establishment of a national timber traceability system: LiberFor
which ensures timber cannot be issued an export permit unless it
has been harvested in a legal concession and all taxes have been
paid.
3. Overview of the VPA and how
it has been developed
Why did Liberia decide to do a VPA?
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VPA reinforces Liberia’s sector reform agenda
As the VPA is based on national legislation, it will support
Liberia to enforce its laws (and ongoing legal reform)
It provides a framework for capacity building in the
forestry sector
It builds on commitments to transparency and good
governance in the forestry sector
It will help Liberia meet demand from international
markets that are looking for proof that timber is legal.
How was it developed?
STEERING COMMITTEE
NEGOTIATING TEAM
26 people
Chaired by MD of FDA
Govt, CS, Industry & Communities
11 people
Led by Minister of Agriculture
Mainly Govt, plus CS & Industry
TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT
Carries out day to day work for NT & SC
EU
Scope of the VPA
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Liberia sees the VPA as an opportunity to improve
governance in the sector, and so has included:
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A wide range of timber products to be covered by the LAS, for
timber from all sources (all concessions/permits plus imports)
Commitment that all timber/timber products for any export
destination and also the domestic market will have to comply fully
with the VPA requirements
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(NB. The domestic market will be phased in later once the LAS is
operational for exports)
A large number of areas identified for further regulation or
clarification, including topics such as workers rights and welfare;
social agreements with affected communities; and chainsaw
logging operators
Liberia LAS - how will it work?
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New structures will be established to create the Legality
Assurance System in Liberia:
Liberia Verification Department (LVD)
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Will carry out verification of compliance with all the legal
requirements set out in the VPA
Will operate the COCS (building on the LiberFor system)
Liberia Licensing Department (LLD)
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Will issue FLEGT Licences (which will replace export permits)
EXPORTER
This diagram illustrates the
intended institutional setup for
the LAS
LLD
Both the LLD and LVD will be
the responsibility of the FDA.
However the LVD is intended to
be outsourced for the first five
years of building & operating
the LAS
LVD
COC / WTS
VERIFICATION
TO LD
Submission of
monitoring data
FDA DEPTS
EPA
MOCI
CSOs
Informing
verification bodies
MOL
OTHERS
MOF
Public Information & Transparency
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This is an important aspect of the VPA, and scrutiny of the
LAS and the forestry sector as a whole will be important to
ensure good governance in the sector.
Commitments are made in a dedicated Annex of the VPA
to provide information on topics like:
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How the forestry sector is being managed
How the VPA is being implemented and what impact it is having
It reinforces the commitments to transparency included in:
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National Forestry Reform Law
Freedom of Information Act
LEITI Act
Part 4: Next steps for VPA
implementation
Where are we now?
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The VPA is now pending ratification by both parties to
come into force.
Pre-implementation activities have started with the
formation of interim structures leading up to ratification
and formation of the Joint Implementation Committee
(JIC; the formal EU-GoL structure to oversee
implementation of the VPA).
Where are we now?
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Detailed planning is underway of how to implement the
VPA, based on indicative timetables and activities included
in the VPA. FLEGT Licences won’t be issued until the
system is fully operational (expected 2014)
The commitments to a transparent and participatory multistakeholder process continue from negotiations to
implementation.
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National multi-stakeholder committee to be established
Lots of work planned on communications
Thank you for
your attention!