JAKARTA- Efforts to encourage the implementation of the Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) equivalent to the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) License from the European Union (EU) through the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) that has been carried out for years, threatened to run aground.

Regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) No. 66/M-DAG/PER/8/2015, which amends several provisions in Permendag No. 97/M-DAG/PER/12/2014 on Export Requirements for Forestry Industry Products, now allows Export Declaration (ED) to export. DE is a statement letter from the IKM (Small and Medium Industry) Registered Exporter of Forestry Industry Products (ETPIK) that the exported goods use raw material sources that have met legality requirements.

This decision may be promising for some wood product exporters, but it also threatens Indonesia's opportunity as the first country to provide FLEGT-licensed wood products in the European market. The ED is the loophole that caused the EU to signal its retreat from recognizing Indonesia's timber legality system as a condition for special privileges in its member states' markets.

Under the terms of the VPA, Indonesia will only export to EU countries legal timber products that have been verified and licensed by FLEGT, where SVLK has been agreed to be the FLEGT license.

The FLEGT license ensures that timber from VPA countries is harvested, processed and exported in compliance with all applicable national laws and regulations. Six countries have currently signed VPAs, Indonesia being the only country from Asia, with the European Union. All six countries are currently developing the necessary systems to control, verify and license legal timber.

With only ED required, it is a loophole that allows wood products that have not been verified for legality to be exported. Despite the spirit of implementing DE to support small industries, it should not sacrifice the SVLK. SVLK is currently the most innovative tool that has been developed in Indonesia to combat illegal logging.

"A solution can be found by including small-scale exporters in the SVLK system so that the benefits of the FLEGT license can also be felt by them," said Aditya Bayunanda, Forest Commodities Market Transformation Leader WWF Indonesia. "The use of SVLK from year to year shows an increasing trend, in 2013 it amounted to 6 billion US dollars and in 2015 until August alone it has reached a value of 7.1 billion US dollars. When compared to the value of exports that only use DE amounting to 140 million US dollars, it makes no sense if DE is maintained and results in Indonesia's failure to be recognized in the FLEGT license." continued Aditya.

For more information, please contact:

Aditya Bayunanda, Forest Commodities Market Transformation Leader WWF Indonesia
Email: abayunanda@wwf.or.id, Hp: +62818265588