Guyana’s timber legality discussions with EU on track

GUYANA has met all the requirements to ensure that logs exported to the EU have been legally harvested.

Chairman of the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) James Singh said last week that Guyana is on track for a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Union (EU) with respect to its Forest Laws Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) regime.
Guyana exports millions of dollars in forestry products to Europe annually.
Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and timber-exporting countries are a central element of the EU FLEGT Action Plan to support forest sector reforms and prevent illegal timber products from entering the EU market.
The FLEGT VPA will serve to safeguard this market for local forestry products by ensuring that each piece of timber which emanates from the country is traceable.
The VPA will help ensure that only timber verified to be legal under Guyana law can be exported to the EU.

Once agreed, the VPAs will include commitments and action from both parties, notably with a license scheme to verify the legality of timber exported to the EU.
The first VPA negotiation session between Guyana and the European Union was held on 5th December, 2012 in Georgetown.
Both parties agreed that the common goal was to have the VPA ratified by September 2015.
Commissioner Singh said last week that the GFC was of the view that EU FLEGT discussions were on track for completion by September 2015 but the EU had said that they wanted more consultations.
The GFC accommodated the EU and as a result some dates were shifted back and consequently the September 2015 deadline will not be met.
He said that the GFC and the EU have set a date for further negotiations in April when it is expected that the new deadline date will be identified and made public.
He stressed: “But we have been meeting all our obligations.”
The GFC and the EU have agreed that the VPA should be built upon existing timber legality verification systems in Guyana which are appropriate and which serve the needs of forestry producers without putting undue burden on them.

By Clifford Stanley

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