The Jakarta government said timber and its by products that have obtained a Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK) certificate will not have to go through a system of due diligence when they are exported to the European Union (EU) in March. Source: The Jakarta Post
In that month, the EU is set to implement the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR) that will only recognize the Forestry Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade-Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT-VPA) licensed timber.
“This is a positive response from the EU to Indonesian timber. We guarantee that timber products with SVLK [certificates] sent to Europe are all verified as legal and do not require the due diligence process,” Forestry Ministry secretary-general Hadi Daryanto said.
The ministry met with the EU Ambassador to Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and ASEAN Julian Wilson in Jakarta to further discuss the timber trade.
If the EU does not recognize SVLK certification, the due diligence system will screen the products in a number of steps, likely creating more costs for importers.
The issue has raised concerns among local forestry businessmen because the additional cost could burden their businesses.
“We believe that we can increase our [timber] exports to the EU,” Hadi said, adding that there were 1500 companies nationwide that had obtained SVLK certification.
The government introduced the certification in part to curb rampant illegal logging in Indonesia in 2010. The certification has been mandatory since then and has been applied to industrial forest concessions (HTI), production forest concessions (HPH) and community plantation forests (HTR) in the country.
The SVLK gives Indonesian producers greater access to the global market as it guarantees to buyers that the timber and its by products are legal and are sourced in an environmentally friendly manner.
The ministry has also helped small-scale businesses that work with timber, such as handicraft producers in Bali and furniture makers in East Java, to have their products certified through a subsidy scheme for those joining the certification program.
The government has allocated Rp 3 billion (US$312,000) from the state budget to help small-scale producers obtain the certification, as budget restraints have often hampered them from securing SVLK certification as the process can cost millions of rupiah.
He said that Indonesia and the EU expected to sign the FLEGT-VPA in April and ratify it in September. The signing of the agreement was delayed twice last year.
