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Consistent wood certification matters
A number of countries and international organizations have acknowledged Indonesia’s achievement.
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Fight against logging: Several officers from the Environment and Forestry Ministry inspect on logs allegedly part of illegal logging activity in South Sumatra. (The Environment and Forestry Ministry/File)
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ovember marked a historic moment in Indonesia’s wood product exports. One year ago, on Nov. 15, Indonesian wood products were for the first time shipped with the timber legality certificate (S-LK), an equivalent of the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) license.
The shipment capped years of negotiations between Indonesia and the European Union to conclude a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) on law enforcement and improved management and trade in forestry, popularly known as FLEGT.
The talks ended with the signing of the agreement by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in April 2016, making Indonesia the only nation to have reached the accord with the EU.
As part of the agreement, the document indicating the legitimacy and sustainability of Indonesian wood products, the S-LK, which resulted from the timber legality verification system (SVLK), was considered equivalent to the FLEGT license. It means Indonesian wood products can enter Europe without going through the process of due diligence as required by EU wood import regulation. Indonesian wood products earning the freedom to enter the EU became a historic event celebrated by Cabinet ministers on Nov. 24, 2016.
Its positive impact was noticeable after a year. Based on timber legality information system (SILK) data of the Environment and Forestry Ministry, wood product exports to Europe continued to improve amid global economic lethargy.
While wood product exports to the EU in 2015 and 2016 totaled US$872.2 million and $868.8 million,respectively, until October this year with the S-LK serving as the FLEGT license, wood product exports to Europe have reached $1.08 billion. Indonesia’s wood product exports to the world until October 2017 were worth $9.3 billion, exceeding the 2016 value of $9.2 billion.
The positive impact of the S-LK scheme prevailed in the wood processing industry, including in furniture and handicraft production dominated by smallscale businesses, as shown by the rise in exports of these products. In 2015 and 2016, furniture exports to Europe respectively hit $262.9 million and $203.8 million. Until October 2017, furniture exports to the continent climbed to $461.9 million.
