The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) has reported good headway on the implementation of its Ten Point Plan for timber procurement from Indonesia.
The plan was launched at a multi-stakeholder meeting in June and a second meeting has been held to review progress.
The aim is to secure third party audited legal timber from Indonesia by establishing a common procurement policy for the buying group, including auditing procedures for third party verification of legality.
Main progress has been made on the scoping study, which will investigate the current state of legality of mills supplying the UK, explore a common auditing framework, establish funding and develop options for UK traders.
The Tropical Forest Trust is carrying out this study and initially 10 mills will be assessed. Initial enquiries have shown a willingness to respond to changing market conditions in the UK and adopt third party auditing.
Meanwhile Andy Roby and Ita Rugge, representing the TTF under the aegis of the UCBD (European Hardwood Federation) attended a meeting at the European Commission to discuss the EU Action Plan on Illegal Logging.
They called for the setting up of an industry working group to follow the action plan and allow member states to engage more effectively in the process.
The action plan will be discussed by European Council working groups and a response is expected in the autumn.
