VERIFOR Project Update: Brunei Workshop 21–23 July
The ASEAN Secretariat recently conducted a three-day training workshop focusing on developments and issues relating to verification of legality in the tropical timber trade and the use of certification for sustainable forest management.
Nearly forty participants from ASEAN member states attended, including senior-level forestry officials, civil society representatives, and members of the private sector. The workshop was part of the ASEAN Working Group on a Pan-ASEAN Timber Certification Initiative’s effort to finalize a regional legality standard. Organization, funding, and presentation of the workshop was a collaborative effort between the Government of Brunei Darussalam, the ASEAN-German Regional Forestry Program, the SmartWood Program of the Rainforest Alliance, and the VERIFOR Project–RECOFTC.
VERIFOR’s Asia-Pacific focal point, RECOFTC’s Robert Oberndorf, gave a presentation on experiences from outside the region on the design and implementation of state-run verification systems. He also presented on how public-private partnerships are driving change and generating opportunities within timber markets and governance systems in Southeast Asia.
Government representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Myanmar provided updates on how their countries are approaching verification of legality within the forest sector, while other experts discussed ASEAN’s approach for developing a regional legality standard, voluntary private sector approaches to verification of legality, use of new technologies for timber tracking and chain of custody purposes, and trends in the use of certification.
A field trip to Sarawak, Malaysia, on the third day of the workshop provided insights into the field-level realities of implementing systems for verifying the legality of timber and timber products for export.
For more information about the ASEAN Training Workshop on Timber Verification of Legality Systems, or about the VERIFOR Project, please contact Robert Oberndorf: robert(at)recoftc.org.
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