EU FLEGT Asia Programme
Illegal logging has a devastating impact not only on some of the world’s remaining forests but also on the people who live in them and rely on the resources they provide. The questions of how forests should be managed, by whom and for whose benefit require governance answers at local, national, regional and international levels – which adds to the complexity surrounding forest management.
Our mission: tackling illegal logging while encouraging sustainable landscape and economic development
With increasing sensitivity to environmental and social issues in global timber markets, especially in the EU and the US, efforts to curb illegal timber trade have intensified. The EU's response includes the development of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) under the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, aimed at supporting countries in transitioning to legal timber production and trade.
The programme aimed to strengthening forest governance, monitoring and sustainable forest management across ASEAN Member States and the Asia region in order to enhance the sustainable production and trade of legally sourced timber and timber products.
Our work: supporting FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) negotiations, implementation and FLEGT licensing in Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam
We worked with key stakeholders engaged in VPA processes, including governments, civil society organisations, the private sector and forest-dependent communities, and supported the EU and the four VPA partner countries in Asia in all formal dialogues.
Through our activities, we helped strengthen regulatory frameworks, modernise forest sectors, improve business practices, build capacities and increase transparency, accountability and multi-stakeholder participation in decision-making in the countries engaged in FLEGT VPA processes.
The EU FLEGT Asia programme was funded by the European Union and overseen by a Steering Committee representing the EU, ASEAN and the four active VPA countries in Asia. The EUR 5 million programme ran from August 2020 – August 2024.
We supported capacity building on timber legality across ASEAN, as well as efforts to tackle illegal logging and related trade at the regional level. The Programme was officially recognised by ASEAN via its Committee of Permanent Representatives.
The Programme engaged major Asian markets of timber and timber products from ASEAN – such as China, Japan and South Korea – to explore ways of working together towards restricting illegally harvested timber from entering their markets.
Results
The systems and capacities have been strengthened to facilitate progress in the negotiation and implementation of Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs). Information, dialogue, coordination, and exchanges have improved between ASEAN Member States and between the EU and/or ASEAN with major timber trade partners. Additionally, best practices have been established and implemented at both national and sub-national levels for forest governance and management frameworks.
Resources
- Programme brochure
- Best practices in forest governance and sustainable landscape approaches in Southeast Asia
- Impact of COVID-19 on ASEAN Member States’ timber trade
- Eighth Regional Training Workshop on Timber Legality Assurance, December 2022
- Stakeholders in the EU-Lao PDR FLEGT VPA Negotiations: The roles of non-state actors
More information on FLEGT VPAs in Asia
- European Union: EU rules against illegal logging
- Indonesia: Timber Legality Information System (SILK)
- Laos: FLEGT Standing Office
This web page has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
