The Republic of Congo has become the second country to make a legally binding bilateral agreement with the EU to ensure the legality of its timber exports.
Congo follows Ghana in agreeing a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU – which aims to stem the flow of illegally harvested wood into European markets.
Announced in Brazzaville on Saturday, the pact will start in 2011 and will require all timber products from Congo to carry a licence in order to gain access to the EU market.
The agreement establishes a transparent system for collecting timber taxes and procedures to ensure harvests and sales are in compliance with national law. The EU has committed to border measures that will exclude unlicensed timber while providing assistance to Congo for enforcement and auditing systems.
The country exports about US$330m worth of timber products annually, with half being purchased by EU countries. Some 4.6 million ha of forests have been certified as of March 2009.
More than 70% of exports to the EU are sawn wood, while the log trade with China increased to US$130m in 2007.
“The conclusion of this agreement will guarantee our country new opportunities in timber markets while participating in reinforcing governance in that sector and illustrating Congo’s political commitment to work in that direction,” said Henri Djombo, Congo’s minister of forest economy.
