VERIFOR UPDATE Chatham House 21 July 2006

VERIFOR – UPDATE Chatham House, 21 July 2006 David Brown & Hans Thiel 1

Today’s Presentation: 1) Review of outputs: negotiating the website, www. verifor. org 2) VERIFOR in Latin America 3) Broader Latin America FLEG Update 2

RECAP OF THE VERIFOR PROJECT Four International partners 3

We focus on: Ø Institutional dimensions of verification • • Policies Institutions ~ rules & principles Social Issues Mechanisms of inclusion and participation Ø Phase One: – Learning from existing systems & practices: 8 forest sector case studies 8 extra-sectoral case studies − Sharing of experience & developing principles for future implementation 8 Meetings/conferences/consultations/other support activities 2. Phase Two: – Policy process development 8 Advice to requesting parties to help build VS 8 Networking & sharing of knowledge 4

Phase One Outputs • Publications: – VERIFOR Briefing Papers • • • Country case studies – forest sector Extrasectoral case studies Thematic studies Options Papers Invited ‘Controversies’ papers: – E. g. Marcus Colchester: ‘Social Dimensions of Verification in FLEGT – Newsletters • Meetings: – Mallorca Experts Consultation (April, 2006) – Contributions to national and international meetings 5

Phase One Case Studies - Forest Sector • Main studies [10]: – – – – – Brazil Costa Rica Ecuador Cambodia Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Cameroon Ghana Canada (BC) • Scoping/thematic [prospective]: – – – Bolivia Honduras Nicaragua Trans-border (C. America) China CFs Nepal PNG The Solomon Islands Congo-Brazzaville DRC Tasmania? 6

Extra-sectoral • Main studies [5] – – – Kimberley Process Nuclear safeguards CITES UNFCCC/Kyoto Food Standards (meat hygiene standards ~ UK/Netherlands) • Additional [prospective] – Ombudsmen/ médiateurs – Labour standards – International election monitoring – Fisheries management 7

THE MALLORCA MEETING Ø 34 international participants, forest sector & extra-sectoral specialists Ø Focused discussion around 4 key institutional themes: • • Ownership Independence Legality Standards Impacts 8

POLITICAL MANDATE LEGAL BASIS DESIGN The object: The aims of verification The ‘rules of the game’ The design of the verification system RESULTS The object: The outcomes of verification -Good governance -Conservation -Growth -Poverty reduction -Legal framework -Legal tradition -Standards of performance -Rights & responsibilities -Compliance regime -Access to information & justice -Building blocks -Organisational characteristics -Architecture -Public support -Progressive governance -Effects on poor -Objectives met -Collateral factors Process: The drivers Policy closure – actors and authority The delivery of verification Measurement and interpretation -Supervision -Facilitation -Participation -Resolution of conflicts -Phasing -Individual and organisational drivers: local, national, international -Political culture Key theme: - OWNERSHIP Key theme: - LEGALITY STANDARD Key theme: - INDEPENDENCE Key theme: - IMPACTS 9

PLANS FOR THE YEAR AHEAD 10

Main Research Areas • Work on terminology and definitions • Typologies of and decision-trees for verification system design • Demand-driven research: – Support to interested producer countries/partners • Thematic research on issues such as: – Multi-stakeholder negotiations – How to make FLEG initiatives ‘pro-poor’? – Technological tools – Incentives for industry – Decentralisation – Trans-border trade 11

VERIFOR IN LATIN AMERICA Hans Thiel 12

VERIFOR will contribute to: 1. The generation and management of knowledge about VS 2. Improve existing verification systems in partner countries 3. Strengthen processes oriented to establish new VS 4. The political dialogue / political will to put in place a VS 13

Dissemination of findings • Workshops / conferences in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica*, Ecuador*, Colombia • Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) • FAO Forestry Commission for LAC (COFLAC) • Amazon Treaty Cooperation Organization (OTCA): ALFA Workshop (Brasilia, August 06) • Latin American Workshop on Technologies for Verification in the Forest Sector (Lima, Sept. 2006) • International Union of Forest Research Organization Conference for Latin-American 14 (IUFRO-LAC) (Santiago, September 06)

Contribute to improve existing VS Costa Rica: support to Strategy against illegal logging in cooperation with FAO SINAC TCP ü Proposal to give the Forest Regents greater independence from loggers ü Proposal for a information system to link administration, control and verification instances ü Recommendations to make normative reforms to simplify C+I for SFM (109 criteria <- certification) 15

The effect of overregulation 16

Contribute to improve VS Ecuador: support the NWG and the National Multistakeholder Dialogue towards the design and discussion of a decentralized Forest Control System • strong effort to include all stakeholders, specially indigenous forest owners • effort to place the process on a high political level and gain ownership of provinces • withdrawal of NGOs: “policy closure” dilema 17

NATIONAL OUTSOURCED FOREST CONTROL SYSTEM FOREST DIRECTORATE IN F G I S O R CONTRACTED VERIFICATION SERVICES M A CONTRACTED FOREST ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES IN LOCAL OFFICES FOREST REGENT DELEGATED CONTROLLING + ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES IN THE FIELD - REVISION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS -CONTROL TIMBER -GIVING OUT LOGGING LICENCES HARVESTING OPERATIONS -GIVING OUT TRANSPORT PERMITS -FILLING OUT TRANSPORT -COLLECTING STUMPAGE TAXES PERMITS AT LANDING VIGILANCIA VERDE CONTROL OF TIMBER TRANSPORTS ON ROADS -CONTROL TIMBER TRANSPORTS (ROADS) -GRANTING SOCIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY T I O N 18 S T A T I S T I C S

VIGILANCIA VERDE CIVIC WATCHDOG TO OVERSEE THE WHOLE SYSTEM NATIONAL DECENTRALIZED FOREST CONTROL SYSTEM NATIONAL FOREST DIRECTORATE IN F G I S O R CONTRACTED VERIFICATION SERVICES M A DECENTRALIZED FOREST ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES IN PROVINCIAL OFFICES - REVISION OF HARVESTING PLANS -GIVING OUT LOGGING LICENCES -GIVING OUT TRANSPORT PERMITS -COLLECTING STUMPAGE TAXES FOREST REGENT DELEGATED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IN THE FIELD -RESPONSIBLE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HARVESTING PLAN -FILLING OUT TRANSPORT PERMITS AT LANDING FOREST GUARD (POLICE, ARMED FORCES AND PROVINCE OFFICIALS) -CONTROL TIMBER TRANSPORTS (ROADS) -GRANTING SOCIAL CONTROL AND ACCOUNTABILITY T I O N 19 S T A T I S T I C S

New system Ecuador: ü Differentiated but complementary roles for the provincial and national forest authority (land use, administration, sanction, accreditation of regents ü Agree on a financing strategy and mechanism: forest regents clear role and financial independence from loggers ü Role of Vigilancia Verde only watchdog ü Only verification services outsourced 20

Contribute to establish new VS • Honduras: support to legislative reform towards a new VS: forest regents, information system • Nicaragua • Colombia: support to the ruling of the new (April 06) Forest Law to establish a decentralized forest control system: forest “agents”, outsourced verification bodies, national information system 21

FLEGT issues in LAC Singularities: • LAC timber market – – – national and regional consumption patterns % of exports to European market share of timber exports to total exports • LAC has strong nationally driven processes towards forest law compliance – – NFP Brazil New forest regime Bolivia Costa Rica, Honduras Outsourced -> decentralized control scheme Ecuador 22

Political dialogue • Brazil sovereignty over the Amazon Basin (

ALFA (FLEGT) opportunities: • Some countries with big potential to exemplify verification systems • Potential for a constructive negotiation with less pressures and market driven interests • There is a big need to inform governments and society of the EU-FLEGT Action Plan and its opportunities (win-win) 24

www. verifor. org 25