Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia and the European Union were ready to discuss timber export licensing system which was already set on the basis of Voluntarily Partnership Agreement, the Forestry Ministry said.
Forestry Minister MS Kaban and EU Commissioner on Environment Stravros Dimas and Commissioner on Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel agreed the preparedness in Brussels on Monday, the ministry said in a statement made available to ANTARA News here Tuesday.
Indonesia and the EU also agreed that anticipating illegal logging and smuggling was not only the timber producing country`s responsibility but also of the importing states.
They also shared the view that illegal logging and smuggling were world phenomena which involved company and private trading and financial networks both in producing and importing countries.
Indonesia and the EU believed that the agreement could give a big contribution to anti-illegal logging drive and to sustainable timber trade. Therefore, they agreed that environmentally-friendly timber should be given a premium price.
In Monday`s meeting, the EU pledged to help find European market access for Indonesian timber.
The Voluntary Partnership Agreement is part of European Union`s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (EU FLEGT) which is aimed to help deal with illegal logging through governmental system improvement in producing countries and to cut illegal logging consumption in Europe as well as to prevent European financial institutions from supporting illegal logging
No comments:
Post a Comment