Last year the TTF took the lead in response to the European Union’s plan to promote the sourcing of legal timber within the European market place, helping to bring the trade together to form practical proposals in response to the issue of illegal logging.
The TTF attended meetings of the European Hardwood Federation (UCBD) and the European Timber Traders Federation (FEBO) to discuss our Code of Conduct, the Indonesian Action Plan and the development of our Responsible Purchasing Policy – all initiatives designed to promote the sourcing of legal timber. All these projects provoked great interest and helped to widen and intensify the discussion on the legal sourcing of timber.
Then, last December, the TTF hosted a meeting with FEBO, the UCBD and several national timber trade associations to agree a response to the changing nature of the purchasing environment.
It was agreed by the partners that a detailed action plan was needed to promote the sourcing of legally verified timber into the EU and that a programme of substantial measures will be developed to harness EU market power.
A package of technical support to encourage suppliers in developing countries to improve standards of forest management to verifiably legal and eventually sustainable levels will be put together and a joint proposal to the European Commission to fund this work will be made.
It was strongly felt that a combination of the EU Action Plan, developing public procurement policies in member states and continued NGO campaigning on illegal logging confronted the trade with a stark choice. Do nothing and face continued erosion of market share or fight to re-establish timber as the sustainable material of choice.
The European trade is determined to work with all interested parties to achieve this goal in 2004 and beyond.
