[Index]
Illegal logging
and wood energy:
UNECE Timber Committee discusses policy
issues of the day
Geneva, 14 October 2003 - At
its annual session, the UNECE Timber Committee
discussed two of the most complex and
topical policy issues facing the forest
and timber sector:
- wood energy policy, in a forum organized
with the cooperation of the UNECE Committee
on Sustainable Energy, and
- forest law enforcement and governance
(how to reduce illegal logging and other
illegal forest related activities).
Wood energy:
"Biomass
is one of the renewable energies with
the greatest potential for expansion,
and wood is by far the largest component
of biomass energy" says Kit Prins, Chief
of the UNECE Timber Branch. "Wood energy
is already widely used and is available
on a sustainable basis, for relatively
modest investment, all over the UNECE
region. Wood energy not only provides
heat and light, but also income and employment,
and contributes to carbon sequestration
in the context of climate change. In most
areas, with the prevailing structure of
energy prices, wood energy is at present
not economically competitive with fossil
fuels. However, several regional initiatives
have demonstrated the feasibility of significantly
increasing the volume of wood used for
energy. The development of a market for
wood energy represents a significant opportunity
to raise the income of forest owners,
whose economic viability is threatened
in many areas, often arising from a lack
of local demand, and in general to promote
rural development. Governments should
create supportive economic and technical
conditions for an expansion of the production
and use of wood energy, in the context
of broader policy frameworks, for renewable
energies and for the forest and timber
sector, taking account of the legitimate
interests of all stakeholders, including
some wood-using industries who would face
increased competition for their raw material
supplies."
Illegal logging:
On this sensitive topic,
Prins stated that the Committee was well
aware of the significant damage done by
illegal logging not only to forests, but
also to government revenue and authority.
Those who manage their own forests and
industries in a responsible and law abiding
way also suffer through loss of market
share to unfair competitors and through
the damage to the image of forest products
as a whole. This is not only a problem
for tropical forests, but it occurs in
the UNECE region as well (although its
extent is not well known). The Committee
wholeheartedly supports the measures being
prepared at international and national
levels to combat this danger, notably
by strengthening institutions (e.g. police,
customs, forest services) in the affected
countries, and by combating trade in the
products of these activities. However,
there is an urgent need to clarify further
the nature and extent of the problem and
to share experience in dealing with it.
The Committee will consider how, working
in partnership with other organizations,
it can contribute in this respect.
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Christopher Prins
Chief, UNECE/FAO Timber Section
Trade Development and Timber Division
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 2872
Fax: +41 (0)22 917 0041
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/trade/timber
Ref: ECE/TIM/03/P02