Brussels

Eoin O'Driscoll and Jeremy Wall

Objectives:

1. To better understand recent trade legislation in the UNECE region, in particular the Lacey Act Amendment (2008) and the EU’s “Timber Regulation”, their implications for and likely impacts on the global forest-based sector;
2. To stimulate focused stakeholder discussion as a basis for drawing workshop conclusions and possible recommendations which will be publicly available.

Expected outputs:

• Broadened awareness of the legislation, its implications and impacts amongst sectoral stakeholders as well as other interested parties;
• Conclusions and recommendations to be available to policy-makers and others, including for consideration during the future development and implementation of such legislation. (Preliminary (Chairmen’s) conclusions and recommendations will be drawn up during the workshop and presented in the closing session. Further contributions may then be received in writing from participants as inputs to a set of enhanced conclusions and recommendations which will be made publicly available, including to the relevant EU and USA authorities).

Target audience:

• Wood traders (firms, federations and associations);
• Wood and wood-based products’ manufacturers (firms, federations and associations);
• End users of wood and wood-based products, including architects’ associations.
• Government departments, especially policy-makers and implementers.
• UN and other inter-governmental bodies.
• Other non-governmental agencies, including ENGOs, certification bodies, etc.

Announcement and registration form

Dear colleagues,
As a workshop participant, if you have already given comments on and/or additions to the draft Co-chairmen's summary conclusions and recommendations (please see attached): thank you! If you have not yet done so, please know that it has become possible to arrange an extension of the consultation period on the conclusions, until close of business on Monday, 2nd May.

Contributions can be comments, statements and/or proposals for track changes. At the Co-chairmen's discretion, they can be included in the enhanced conclusions, either anonymously, or - if you expressly authorise it - they can be attributed to you. These enhanced conclusions will be public but will remain the co-chairmen's conclusions and no "agreement" will be claimed for them. No attribution will be made of any text unless individuals specifically and positively authorise us to do so.  In any case, if you or your organisation wishes to make a significant statement about the issues discussed at the workshop, please submit this as a maximum of two pages of A4-size text, which can be added to the conclusions as an attributed annex.
 
For your further information, please know that it is more or less standard practice to record interpreted meetings, mainly as a means of helping to write any report afterwards. Please rest assured that the recording of the workshop will NOT be made public.
 
With further thanks for participating at the workshop.
 
Eoin O’Driscoll & Jeremy Wall
Workshop Co-chairmen