The FAO-EU forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) programme seeks to reduce and eventually eliminate illegal logging. With the support of its donors, the European Union, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme funds projects created by governments, civil society and private sector organizations in Latin America, Africa and Asia to improve forest governance and promote trade in legal timber products on domestic and international markets. The Programme works in support of the European Commission’s Action Plan on FLEGT to promote the legal production and consumption of timber. The evaluation looked at the third phase of the programme, which remained a significant contribution to the goals of the FLEGT Action Plan. The increased capacity of service providers (particularly beginner non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations) and micro, small and medium-sized enterprise associations was considered the most significant change generated by the programme. The promotion of South-South cooperation proved to be an important aspect of capacity enhancement. Thanks to increased capacities, but also multi-stakeholder platforms and improved policy and regulative tools, a positive incipient impact on more inclusive forest governance has been achieved. More information and independent forest monitoring provided an important contribution to improved enabling conditions for legal timber trade and on the information of timber legality, even though the actual market impact is still limited. Recommendations to FAO and its project partners and stakeholders include actions to take away institutional, fiscal, technical and political barriers to scale up results, and actions to strengthen the sustainability of results, gender equity and social inclusion, knowledge management as well as monitoring and evaluation.

The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme supports government agencies, non-governmental organizations and private sector associations to work together in support of legal and trade reforms in timber producing countries with the aim of increasing legal trade in timber. The Programme, which started in 2008, is currently half way through its third phase of funding and covers 24 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. An evaluation of the third phase shows that despite significant shifts in timber markets and flows, the Programme remains highly relevant to national and regional forest governance objectives, national trade priorities and market demands. It is also well aligned to donor goals and objectives, particularly the EU-FLEGT Action Plan, as well as FAO Strategic Objectives. The Programme has achieved important results at country level including improved voice of non-state actors; increased capacity and skills; policy, legal and regulatory reforms; transparency and disclosure and improvements in timber legality.

The FAO-EU FLEGT Programme is carrying out an experience capitalization exercise to collect, analyse and share experiences, good practices and lessons learned during the implementation of the Phase III of the Programme. As a part of this effort, the Programme agreed to support the project entitled “Increasing Stakeholder Participation in Forest Law Reform Process: Case Studies from FAO-EU FLEGT Programme”. This project, carried out and co-financed by ClientEarth, includes a review of nine projects that focused on increasing stakeholder participation in legal reform processes in the following countries: the Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Malaysia, Myanmar and the Philippines. The publication includes the aggregate findings of the six focus countries, general analysis and recommendations.

In this insightful book, Martin Hedemann-Robinson appraises the European Union’s development of its legal framework to assist in combating one of the foremost challenges facing the international community: global deforestation. He provides an analytical overview of the evolving Union legislation, discussing its impact both within the single market as well as internationally.

Nearly three years ago, world leaders agreed to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – the central framework for guiding development policies throughout the world. This edition of The State of the World’s Forests is aimed at enhancing our understanding of how forests and their sustainable management contribute to achieving several of the SDGs. Time is running out for the world’s forests: we need to work across sectors, bring stakeholders together, and take urgent action. The State of the World’s Forests 2018 identifies actions that can be taken to increase the contributions of forests and trees that are necessary to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. It is now critical that steps be taken to work more effectively with the private sector, and the informal forest sector must be transformed in order to bring broader economic, social and environmental benefits. Seventy years ago, when FAO completed its first assessment of the world’s forest resources, the major concern was whether there would be enough timber to supply global demand; now we recognize the greater global relevance of our forests and trees. For the first time, The State of the World’s Forests 2018 provides an assessment of the contribution of forests and trees to our landscapes and livelihoods. The purpose of this publication is to provide a much wider audience with an understanding of why forests and trees matter for people, the planet and posterity.

"Illegal logging and trade in illegally logged timber affect most of the forested countries. It causes environmental damage and loss of biodiversity, and has negative economic and social effects. The EU action plan on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT) aims to reduce illegal logging globally by supporting forest governance in timber-producing countries and by reducing the imports of illegally harvested timber to the EU. In this report the Court concludes that the commission's support to timber-producing countries in the framework of the FLEFT action plan was not sufficiently well managed. While the FLEGT action plan was conceived in an innovative way, the Commission did not devise and appropriate work plan with clear objectives, milestones and a dedicated budget. It did not clearly prioritise its assistance, and monitoring and reporting procedures were unsatisfactory. The main projects examined were not successful and the envisaged timber licensing schemes are not yet fully operational in any of the partner countries."--Page [4] of cover.

Recoge : The International Year of Forests 2011 - Forestry in the world: 1. Forests - 2. The economics of forestry and wood processing - 3. Wood and wood products - 4. Woods as a source of energy - Annexes.