19.04.2019
The meeting of the Steering Committee of FLEGT projects of ATIBT took place on April 8, 2019 in the offices of AFD.
Below are the main results of this meeting.
This annual steering committee for projects on FLEGT, REDD + and ATIBT Certification took place on April 8, 2019 in AFD’s offices in the presence of the main donors and members of the team. coordination of the ATIBT.
As a reminder, this major and important topic relating to the fight against illegal logging and the improvement of forest governance is the subject of several grant contracts with ATIBT: the European Union, the French Fund for Global Environment, FAO, and KFW through PPECF-COMIFAC.
The purpose of this Steering Committee was to present the results obtained in 2018, to present the 2019 activity schedule and to discuss possible recommendations and directions to be taken.
Thus, during 2018 and early 2019, the contracting of « FLEGT-Certification referents » within the different countries: Congo, Gabon, DRC and Cameroon is an essential step forward to better involve the private sector in the negotiations or the implementation of the VPA FLEGT. Indeed, these referents are essential catalysts to sensitize new players in the forest sector at the FLEGT Plan, and all stakeholders to third party verified legal certification, while representing these private operators to other stakeholders in this process.
Other results obtained in 2018, such as the 3 study reports on timber plantations (see here), and the revision and update of the Timber Trade portal, were presented and received positively by COPIL members.
Among the national meetings and forums that ATIBT has co-organized are the Governance Forum in Brazzaville, the private sector side-event of the PFBC in Brussels and the participation of FLEGT-week in Washington. (October and November 2018)
In the year 2019, particular emphasis will be placed on the recognition of certification in the APV documentation, and on the organization of training with European stakeholders (competent authorities, federations of importers) on certificates verified in the operationalization of the EUTR (European Wood Regulation).
Finally, the ATIBT China forum scheduled for October 2019 will be another opportunity to strengthen ties with this key player on the subject of forest governance.
Less than two years before the end of the projects, the activities of these projects are in full swing!
