LEGAL

FOREST PRODUCTS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE: A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE August 9th and 10th, 2012

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In August 2012, the Forest Legality Alliance (FLA) and Reforestamos Mxico co-hosted the event Legal Forest Products and International Trade: A Regional Perspective. The Alliance is a joint effort of the World Resources Institute and the Environmental Investigation Agency, supported by the United States Agency for International Development. The event brought together more than 100 participants from more than 8 countries from private companies, civil society organizations, Mexican and U.S. government agencies, trade associations and academia. The group focused on the following objectives: Discussing and analyzing interregional timber trade. Discussing and analyzing forest legality challenges and how legality issues and the forest products trade impacts Latin Americas small and medium-sized enterprises, including community forest enterprises. Providing information to the producers and exporters about the legal requirements of timber products in the international market and its increased demand.

Timber Interregional trade is not well known and there are information barriers that impede a deep understanding of the value and volume of the timber product flow in the region. The European Forest Institute is supporting a study to understand the regional dynamics. Moreover, representatives of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and Peru discussed illegal logging in their countries and proposed specific actions against illegal logging on a national level. Reducing the demand for timber products that originate from illegal sources in national and international markets is a way to with illegal logging. Half of the event was dedicated to discussing the current requirements of timber products from legal sources at the international market, both from private buyers and trade regulations. United States government representatives, the European Forest Institute and international corporations guided the discussion of the Lacey Act, The European Timber Regulation and private sector purchasing practices. The event concluded with a discussion on initiatives and resources available to help promote the demand for timber products from legal sources and equipping value chains for those that supply legal products, as well as Initiatives and resources, including the Forest Legality Alliance and a series of existing and emerging technologies that can help businesses to track and control the risks of illegal timber in their value chains. 1

 The reduction of illegal logging in Mexico -- and the Latin American region as a whole -- will require the implementation of dialogues, meetings and collaboration between stakeholders. The event Legal Forest Products and Trade: a Regional Perspective joined the efforts that are already in place to facilitate dialogue and the coordination against illegal logging In Latin America.

APPENDIX 1 OTHER RESOURCES

An Inside Look At Latin Americas Illegal Logging Part One http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/09/inside-look-latin-americas-illegal-logging--part- one#fn:1 An Inside Look at Latin Americas Ilegal Logging Part two http://insights.wri.org/news/2012/09/inside-look-latin-americas-illegal-logging--part-two Perspectivas sobre la Tala Ilegal en Amrica Latina Parte I http://www.reforestamosmexico.org/blog/general/foro-de-legalidad-forestal Perspectivas sobre la Tala Ilegal en Amrica Latina Parte II http://www.reforestamosmexico.org/blog/general/perspectivas-sobre-la-tala-ilegal-en- america-latina-parte-iii Event presentations http://www.forestlegality.org/content/mexico-meeting