The 5 sessions of the webinar on the role of forest certification in the EUTR is now available online in 5 languages!

ATIBT and Preferred by Nature co-organized free training webinar sessions about the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), and more specifically on the role and interest of forest certification (legal or sustainable) in a due diligence system. This training was organized with the help of European federations of timber importers (TTF in the United Kingdom, LCB in France, Fedustria in Belgium, VVNH in the Netherlands, Fedecomlegno in Italy, AEIM in Spain), and technical partners (Probos, Obbois et Conlegno).

This training followed the first series of training organized by Preferred by Nature and its partners on the application of the EUTR in general (videos and presentations available online in 6 languages), as part of their LIFE Legal Wood project.

The training were addressed to importing companies, selling timber on the European market, or to members of the competent authorities of the Member States (in charge of control), but also to companies exporting timber to the EU. They were addressed to all actors involved in the timber legality chain. The general objective was to build the capacity of actors and key stakeholders to comply with the EUTR.

This training about certification addressed the use of forest certification as an effective tool in a due diligence system to analyze and reduce the risks of illegality Participants learned about how a forest certification system works, how an audit is conducted, how to ensure that a wood product is certified, what the EUTR says about forest certification, and how to use it in a due diligence system. ATIBT shared its experience with forest certification in Central and West Africa. The webinar concluded with a (fictitious) case study highlighting the value of third-party certification to limit the risks of illegal timber in a company's supply chains and to facilitate the exercise of due diligence.

This training was a part of the FLEGT-REDD project of ATIBT, financed by the FFEM. One of the axes of this project concerns key actors in the implementation of the EUTR so that they are aware of the importance of harmonizing national implementation approaches and supporting sustainable forest management and its independent certification.

The first sessions (English, French and Spanish) were held earlier this month, and the last two sessions were held on Tuesday, April 20 in Dutch and Tuesday, April 27 in Italian. 

In total, nearly 400 people participated in the 5 sessions of this webinar, and had the opportunity to participate in question and answer sessions at the end of the presentations. ATIBT and Preferred by Nature are available for any questions related to these topics.

In the meantime, presentations and replays of the sessions are available on ATIBT website.

About the ATIBT FLEGT-REDD project

Since 2013, ATIBT has implemented a wide FLEGT-REDD project to improve private sector involvement in the implementation of the FLEGT Action Plan (VPA process and REDD+ mechanism). This project is entitled "Integration of the Central and West African tropical timber sector into the FLEGT and REDD+ mechanisms". It is partly funded by FFEM (French Facility for Global Environment) and has the overall objective of getting the private forestry sector to actively contribute to the sustainable management of tropical forests and to the socio-economic development of timber-producing countries.

The project ends on April 30, 2021, you can consult the end of the project brochure to learn more about the activities and results of this project.