Governments fight illegal logging and promote sustainability
through their purchasing
UNECE/FAO policy forum discussed how to avoid illegally and
unsustainably sourced wood and paper products in national purchasing
Geneva, 10 October 2006 -- Governments are important market
players. In the UNECE region the total value of state purchasing often
exceeds 15% of the total national GDP. Wood and paper products which are
highly versatile are used for various purposes. They are particularly environment
friendly products and are often given advantage to other materials. To
exclude illegally and/or unsustainably sourced wood and paper products
in national purchasing, a few governments have set up public procurement
policies, regulations and rules.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), together
with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
held a policy forum on “Public procurement policies for wood and
paper products and their impacts on sustainable forest management and timber
markets” on 5 October 2006. Different stakeholders from exporters,
traders, industry and NGOs presented their viewpoints and discussed the
experience of countries with public procurement schemes in place.
Among the forum’s conclusions are:
- There is strong political momentum driving the move to public procurement
policies for forest products.
- Only a few countries are really applying public procurement policies
in practice.
- Governments have a dual role, being both regulator and purchaser.
- The “lead countries” are already working together.
- The international legal environment is complex.
- There are many difficulties with implementation, including the complexity
of assessing certification schemes.
- Market players expressed strong concerns about certain aspects of
public procurement policies, including the procedures required, the diversity
of approaches between countries, the risk of creating unnecessary trade
barriers. In particular they felt that the market conditions in which
they had to operate are being changed too often.
- It was proposed that
public procurement policies take into account a phased approach to
achieving sustainable forest management.
- A realistic approach to designing
and implementing public procurement policies was essential.
- Public
procurement policies cannot solve all problems immediately: expectations
should not be too high.
- Public procurement can be a role model for
private sector.
- “Legality” is increasingly accepted as
minimum standard.
- It has proved challenging for designers of public
procurement policies to allow for evidence of sustainability from certification
schemes and from “alternative documentation”.
- Public procurement
policies could make it possible to avoid giving an advantage to illegal
loggers and unfair traders.
- Unsustainably or illegally produced
wood is reaching markets in the form of value added products, thus
circumventing public procurement policies which only cover primary products.
Notwithstanding the technical difficulties, public procurement policies
should also consider addressing value added products. Some countries
are already doing this.
- At present only wood products are subjected
to public procurement policy requirements on sustainability. This fact,
as well as possible excessive transaction costs, risk causing substitution
by less environmentally friendly competing materials such as plastic.
- The positive effects of public procurement policies on sustainable
forest management are difficult to prove.
- Public procurement policies
can discriminate against small-scale or community run forest enterprises,
and less developed countries.
- There is a lack of information and statistics,
as well as a need for transparency and inclusiveness.
- Precision and
simplicity should be balanced in a pragmatic way.
- Public procurement
policies should promote the use of sustainably produced wood.
- Because
of the complexity of the issues and the dynamic development, it is
important for countries and stakeholders to exchange information, cooperate
and coordinate actions.
The report of the policy forum will be made available in a UNECE/FAO Geneva
Timber and Forest Discussion Paper. The presentations are available
at http://www.unece.org/trade/timber/docs/tc-sessions/tc-64/2006PolicyForum.htm
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Christopher Prins, Chief
UNECE/FAO Timber Section
Palais des Nations, room 456
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 2874
Fax: +41 (0) 22 917 0041
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/TIM/06/P05