THIRTY-FIRST
SESSION
29 October – 3 November 2001
Yokohama, Japan
DECISION 6(XXXI)
FOREST LAW ENFORCEMENT IN
THE CONTEXT OF
SUSTAINABLE TIMBER
PRODUCTION AND TRADE
The International Tropical Timber Council,
Recalling
the relevant paragraphs of Articles 1, 27, 30 and 36 of the ITTA, 1994, and the
Libreville Action Plan;
Affirming
the sovereign right of governments over their natural resources;
Recognizing
the increasing demand for timber harvest and trade from sustainably managed
forests;
Also
recognizing the complexity of the underlying causes of unsustainable
timber production, and the need to promote sustainable production of timber and
adequate access to consumer markets, aiming at a significant increase in the
revenues and benefits for governments, forest owners, industry and local
communities;
Further
recognizing that the problem of unsustainable timber production,
inadequate forest law enforcement, illegal trade and their impact on markets
are of concern to producer and consumer countries of ITTO;
Further
recognizing the desire of all Member Countries to work together to
increase sustainable timber production and trade and ITTO’s contribution to
sustainable forest management practices;
Acknowledging
that all countries and the ITTO have a role and responsibility in combating
activities that undermine sustainable forest management;
Appreciating
the progress made by ITTO Member Countries towards achieving Objective 2000;
Noting
that it is in the interest of both producers and consumers to improve
sustainable forest management and forest law enforcement and address illegal
trade;
Acknowledging
the lack of adequate financial resources for sustainable forest management and,
in this context, the need to strengthen forest law enforcement;
Decides to:
1.
Authorize the Executive Director to engage consultants to
conduct, with producer and consumer countries interested in voluntarily
participating, a case study on assessing export and import data on tropical
timber and timber products in the context of international trade, with a view
to improving the accuracy of ITTO’s market and economic intelligence;
2.
Encourage countries in need of ITTO assistance to
voluntarily submit projects for the Organization’s consideration which address
unsustainable timber harvesting, forest law enforcement and illegal trade in
tropical timber with a view to attracting increased funding from Members to
develop domestic capacity to address these areas as a matter of priority;
3.
Consider in future, in cooperation with other relevant
international organizations, the implementation of a global study to assess the
extent, nature and causes of illegal trade in timber and timber products and to
make recommendations on its prevention in the context of the ITTA, 1994;
4.
Request the Executive Director to compile and analyze
information on relevant issues affecting market access for tropical timber and
to present this to the Thirty-third Session for the Council’s consideration and
action as appropriate;
5.
Authorize the Executive Director, upon request by producer
countries, to engage consultants to conduct studies and to assist Producer
Countries in devising ways to enhance forest law enforcement, taking into
account, when necessary, illegal timber trade and its impacts;
6.
Invite Members to include in their reports on Progress
towards Objective 2000 information on the promotion of sustainable forest
management and timber production and trade practices, including inter alia
forest law enforcement as well as market access obstacles to tropical timber
and timber products, and to share this information among Members;
7.
Request the Executive Director to follow the work of
international organizations in this area and to contribute as appropriate and
to report to the Council; and
8.
Request the Executive Director to seek voluntary
contributions from Members to the Special Account to finance the implementation
of this decision, understanding the need for existing and new resources to
finance the objectives of this decision, and to arrange for financing from Sub‑account
B of the Bali Partnership Fund for activities under operative paragraphs 1, 4
and 5 in the event of insufficient earmarked pledges.
ANNEX
I
Terms of Reference
for Consultancy on
Export and Import Data Case Studies
1.
Review trade statistics for selected countries
available from ITTO and other sources.
2.
Prepare a brief report for each country
outlining the nature and magnitude of discrepancies found from this initial
review.
3.
On the basis of the initial review, undertake
missions to selected countries to investigate trade statistics reporting
systems. These missions should
involve:
·
Overall review of trade
statistics reporting system(s) used including the level of reporting detail.
·
Review of
individual products where substantial discrepancies discovered including
analysis of individual customs records/reports.
·
Research on
the effects of different measurement standards and reporting formats
(e.g. scaling systems, notation systems, reporting periods, etc.).
·
Research on
mis-classification by product and within product codes (e.g.
sawnwood-mouldings, coniferous, non-coniferous).
·
Research on
possible “triangular” trade, where the destination on bill of lading and/or
customs report differs from actual destination.
·
Identification
of possible transfer pricing through analysis of average unit values for
shipments and other relevant data.
·
Comparison
of conversion factors (weight/area/pieces → volume).
·
Identification
of areas for further research.
4.
Prepare a report summarizing the
problems identified and recommending actions to be undertaken by countries and
ITTO to strengthen statistical reporting systems and deal with apparent
instances of illegal trade.
5.
Present the report to the Council at
its Thirty-third Session.
