 Survey:
European countries care less about illegal logging issues
WWF
A new WWF report ranks 22 European Union governments and
Switzerland on their attitudes and actions against illegal
logging. According to the 2006 Government Barometer, none
of the 23 surveyed countries achieved acceptable results,
especially when compared with previously conducted surveys.
According to the survey, the best performing countries are
the UK followed by the Netherlands, Denmark, Latvia and Belgium.
The only country with notable improvements was the Netherlands,
while the UK's scores went down compared to results from a
2004 survey.
The survey also shows little to no activity on responsible
public procurement by European governments. Only France was
able to prove a comprehensive policy aimed to ensure that
wood products purchased by public institutions are legally
and sustainably produced.
Austria, UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland
and Belgium could point to some, albeit insufficient, public
procurement policies. The countries that improved most on
this issue in the last two years were Belgium, Denmark and
the Netherlands. All other countries were unable to demonstrate
to WWF any public procurement policies at all.
“Alarmingly, none of the surveyed governments could
prove effective implementation of their policies and guarantee
that their tax payers’ money is not fuelling illegal
logging,” said Karin Wessman, WWF's illegal logging
coordinator.
The evaluation shows further that only Austria has developed
a national action programme to address issues around forest
law enforcement, governance and timber trade.
On attitudes towards EU-wide action, many countries signaled
clear support for EU legislation to outlaw the import of illegal
timber and wood products into the EU. Such legislation would
underpin and support the current voluntary partnership agreements
negotiated by the EU on behalf of their member states.
WWF has repeatedly emphasized that in the absence of such
legislation, illegal timber can be imported from countries
which are not part of voluntary partnership agreements. The
global conservation organization is calling on national governments
to stop paying lip-service on illegal logging issues and to
better support responsibly acting companies and governments
inside and outside the EU through their national policies.
"The European Union is a major consumer of illegal
timber from around the world, but the EU governments are failing
to drive sufficient demand for legal and sustainable timber
and wood products,” said Beatrix Richards, a WWF
forest policy specialist.
“Although support for EU action is laudable and needed,
it will not be enough to tackle the global problem of illegal
and destructive logging.”
|
