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Deregulation puts sustainable timber trade at risk
The Trade Ministry recently eliminated V-legal licensing, which had represented an important tool of the timber legality verification system (SVLK) managed by the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
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Kalimantan Environment and Forestry Law Enforcement Center investigators seal a location reportedly used to store illegal timber in Nunukan, North Kalimantan, on July 10, 2019. (Courtesty of/The Environment and Forestry Ministry)
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recent regulation by the Trade Ministry relaxing export requirements for timber products has drawn criticism from environmental groups, which said it would restimulate illegal logging and in turn damage the environment.
Issued in late February, the Trade Ministry's regulation on exports of forestry products scrapped the requirement for Indonesian timber companies to secure V-legal documents that certify the wood comes from legal sources before exporting their products.
V-legal licensing had represented an important tool of the timber legality verification system (SVLK) managed by the Environment and Forestry Ministry, which has helped improve Indonesia's reputation in the global sustainable timber trade.
Indonesian Independent Forest Monitoring Network (JPIK) activist Muhamad Kosar said the scrapping of the V-legal license was a setback for forest protection since it was supposed to be the final check in timber exports.
Introduced in 2013, V-legal licensing had increased the traceability of exported Indonesian timber under the SVLK scheme, which aims to curb illegal logging and increase forest sustainability.
Kosar said the absence of V-legal documents would now potentially create a loophole for illegal loggers to market their products.
“This new policy also proves that forest protection by the government is still partial. The Trade Ministry and the Environment and Forestry Ministry have different approaches in this case," Kosar said on Thursday.
