Challenges and Opportunities in Turning the Tide on Deforestation

During this 16th session, the members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, composed of fifteen international organizations working in the field of forestry, issued a joint statement. This statement emphasizes the need to stop the destruction of forests around the world.

The joint statement describes the consequences of deforestation as well as the opportunities and actions needed to stop it.

One highlighted action reminds how ensuring the legality of timber production and trade, and strengthening forest governance, are crucial for tackling deforestation. INTERPOL estimates that the value of the illegal timber trade is between $51 and $152 billion per year. Initiatives such as FLEGT VPA process have in recent years shown that trade is an effective tool for incentivizing governance reforms to promote legal and sustainable forest management and economic development.

Furthermore, demand-side legislation including the EUTR and other import regulations, shape a global trade environment where the legality of timber imports must be demonstrated.

Finally, this declaration also reminds that voluntary certification is also a valuable tool to figth illegal logging and already covers more than one-third of industrial roundwood production.

In addition, the fight against illegal timber must be part of an ongoing effort to improve transparency, eliminate corruption, and meet the needs of local populations.

In total, this joint declaration identifies 14 key points that describe the situation and propose ways to effectively fight deforestation.

To read the CPF joint statement, click here.

To download the CPF presentation at UNFF-16, click here.