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Indonesia backtracks on controversial decision to relax wood export requirements
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Kalimantan Environment and Forestry Law Enforcement Center investigators seal a location that was 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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ndonesia has backtracked on a decision to relax export requirements for timber products months after issuing a deregulation policy that environmental groups criticized for threatening to put sustainable timber trade at risk.
The Trade Ministry issued on May 11 a regulation annulling its previous regulation in February that scrapped the requirement for Indonesian companies to secure the so-called V-legal documents, which indicate that timber products being shipped come from legal sources.
V-legal licensing has 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 global sustainable timber trade.
The Trade Ministry previously defended its February decision – which was supposed to take effect on May 27 – by saying that it only regulated the export requirements for timber products and would not affect the entire SVLK system.
The Trade Ministry's director for agricultural and forestry product exports, Sulistyawati, confirmed that the new regulation annulled the previous policy and, therefore, exporters needed to again secure the V-legal documents.
“This change is based on suggestions by the ministry in charge of [environmental affairs],” Sulistyawati said.
Read also: Deregulation puts sustainable timber trade at risk
