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European Court of Auditors cites Commission illegal logging strategy as 'failing'

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20141124IllegalLoggingUSMomiiThe EU's strategy against combat illegal logging is "failing" due to poor implementation and management, according to a report by the European Court of Auditors. Four countries (Greece, Hungary, Romania and Spain) have not yet fully implemented the EU Timber Regulation, which was introduced to prevent illegal timber entering the EU market. 

Illegal logging is thought to be responsible for about one fifth of man made greenhouse-gas emissions – more than from all the world’s ships, planes, trains and cars combined. It is also an existential threat to forest-dependent indigenous people, and to biodiversity.

But 12 years after launching an action plan to end the trade, results from the EU’s €300m aid programme to 35 partner countries have been “meagre” according to the auditors’ report, with problems at the demand and supply ends of the trade chain.  As the chain of control is only as strong as its weakest link in the single market, illegal timber could still be imported into the EU via these four countries,” Karel Pinxten, one of the auditors of the report, said.

“The EU should put its house in order.”  “The EU cannot continue to allow illegal wood in its market while pushing other countries to thoroughly address the problem,” added WWF’s senior forestry policy officer, Anke Schulmeister.  A European Commission reply in the report stated: “The Commission recognizes the need to develop more specific objectives, milestones and a common roadmap as well as the need to more systematically monitor ... implementation. The recommendations of the ongoing evaluation will certainly help in this effort.”

Reaction the report was swift with UK Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder saying: "I am very angry that Europe is failing to implement our side of international and EU agreements to tackle illegal logging.

"Deforestation accounts for more global greenhouse-gas emissions than the whole of the EU combined. If the Commission is serious about tackling climate change it must take action to end the import of illegal timber into the EU. How can we convince developing countries to address illegal logging if we fail to meet our side of the bargain?"

The MEP hosted a conference on illegal logging in the parliament on Wednesday (21 October) which heard that forests and forest landscapes, particularly in tropical areas, are important in regulating global carbon budgets and moderating climate change but they are still being degraded and destroyed at a significant rate.

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These same forests provide many other essential non-carbon benefits such as biodiversity, provision of food/energy/materials, medicines, disease mitigation, water quality and flood control, it was said. By 2030 restoration and sustainable management of forest landscapes could also make better use of biodiversity, to maintain or increase their capacity to absorb and store carbon despite new climate extremes, while responding to the needs of local and global society.  The EC funded project on the Role of Biodiversity in Climate Change Mitigation (ROBIN) has produced new insights and evidence concerning the carbon and non-carbon benefits provided by tropical forest landscapes in Latin America.

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