The summary conference of the project “Supporting the VPA process in Vietnam: Towards legal timber supply chains between the countries participating in the VPA agreement” on the afternoon of December 23, 2022 by the Vietnamese forest administration and the Vietnamese forest administration, German Development Cooperation GIZ, jointly organized by of GIZ, attracted more than 80 domestic delegates and international development partners.

According to a conference report, the project “Supporting the VPA Process in Vietnam” with 47 activities carried out has helped strengthen Vietnam’s position in implementing commitments on environmental protection and combating illegal timber trade. On the other hand, it also helps to expand the furniture export market to EU and markets in USA, Japan and Australia etc., which helps to increase the export turnover of wood and furniture to US$14.47 billion in 2021 and 15, bringing $0.57 billion in 11 months of 2022…

SUCCESSFUL CONTROL OF WOOD IMPORT MATERIALS

Mr. Nguyen Huu Thien, Director of Forest Protection Department – General Department of Forestry of Vietnam – Deputy Director of the project “Supporting the VPA Process in Vietnam: Towards legal timber supply chains between the countries participating in the VPA Agreement,” said with the aim of one To become one of the world’s leading timber processing and export centers, Vietnam strives to ensure that all timber sources involved in the supply chain must ensure legality of origin.

The Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), signed in 2018, recognizes this common goal between the European Union and Vietnam.

The UK-funded project “Supporting the implementation of VPA/FLEGT in Vietnam” – managed by the German Society for Technical Cooperation (GIZ); The General Directorate of Forestry is the owner of the project – the Forest Protection Agency is the central body for the implementation of the activities, which will be implemented from January 2019 to December 31, 2022.

“After 4 years of implementation, the project has made important contributions to promote the implementation of VPA/FLEGT in Vietnam by improving the policy framework and strengthening the capacities of authorities and organizations, relevant organizations and individuals. Vietnam has stepped up forest policy formulation and revision, particularly in relation to traceability of forest products through the Vietnam Timber Legality Assurance System (VNTLAS),” Mr. Thien stressed.

According to Mr. Nguyen Huu Thien, through the activities of the project, central bodies, local authorities, the business community, NGOs and international organizations have been provided with further information, information and updates on the implementation of the VPA/FLEGT Agreement and the Vietnam Legal Timber Annex VIII Insurance Scheme of the agreement. This will increase transparency in the implementation of the agreement and limit sources of inaccurate information about Vietnam’s timber processing industry.

Mr. Santiago Alonso-Rodriguez, First Adviser and Head of Department for Economic Cooperation and Development, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Vietnam, shared that the project effectively combined national-level policy advice with development and capacity building of a wide range of stakeholders while facilitating at the same time the exchange between wood exporting and importing countries. The project focused on the legal aspects of the timber value chain in Vietnam and between Vietnam and timber-supplying countries such as Laos and Cameroon.

“Based on the commitments of VPA FLEGT, major policies have been or are being developed and revised by the Government of Vietnam, including the Forestry Law, Decrees and Circulars, and the Vietnamese Forestry South Development Strategy and most recently the Action Plan to Implement the Glassglow Declaration on Forestry ” said the adviser.

Notable achievements include assisting the General Ministry of Forestry/Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the development of Decree 102, which outlines the main content of VNTLAS, including new supply chain control requirements and import and export requirements. The project also contributes to technical advice for sub-legislative documents such as Circular 21 – a detailed description of the enterprise classification system or the revised circular of Circular 27 on traceability of forest products in Vietnam.

“I would particularly like to highlight the project’s contribution to tightening the requirements and controls for imported wood. The new responsibilities of customs officials outlined in Decree 102 include additional border controls for timber. In addition, rangers have new responsibilities related to post-monitoring, Mr. Santiago Alonso-Rodriguez said.

INCREASE CAPACITY FOR AGENCIES AND ENTERPRISES

According to Mr. Santiago Alonso – Rodriguez, a sustainable supply chain is one of the clear political priorities in Germany: Last year, the federal government passed the law on corporate responsibility for supply chains, the Supply Chain Act for short. This code ensures that important social and environmental protection regulations are observed throughout the supply chain to Germany.

In addition, at the level of the European Union, these sustainable and fair global value chains are increasingly being discussed and discussed. A new EU regulation on the subject, which will cover some key agricultural commodities such as coffee or soybeans and timber, will also be finalized next year.

Anja Barth, Principal Advisor of the project, affirmed: “Strengthening the capacity of stakeholders is a key task to strengthen the compliance verification system and the accompanying enforcement procedures.” The project organized training courses on imported timber control, attended by representatives from 47 provinces, of 406 foresters and customs officials were trained in timber import control. In addition, 209 trainees from timber companies and associations from across the country attended the training course on accountability practices.

The project has also sought to promote dialogue between companies from exporting and importing countries with a view to a sustainable supply chain. This has opened up opportunities for different participants in the timber value chain to exchange experiences on VPA/FLEGT implementation with different countries in the European Union and around the world. The project also developed, published and shared with stakeholders training materials, information on legal requirements in harvesting countries and supporting documents for identifying tropical timber species.