Timber Legality Assurance. System of Viet Nam VNTLAS

Transcription

1 Programme for 6 th Sub-Regional Training Workshop on Timber Legality Assurance 3 5 July 2018, Chiang Mai, Thailand Timber Legality Assurance System of Viet Nam VNTLAS

2 Main Contents 1. Viet Nam forest 2. VPA negotiation process 3. Introduction of Timber Legality Assurance System of Viet Nam (VNTLAS); 4. Key Commitments in VPA; 5. VPA/VNTLAS implementation;

3 1. Viet Nam forest Forest land to 2020: 16,2 mil. ha, accounting for 44% of land area, Forest land divided into 3 categories as follows: Special Use Forest: 2.2 mil. ha; Protection Forest: 5.5 mil. ha; Production Forest: 8.5 mil. ha. 52.5% 13.6% 34.0% SUFs Protection Forest Production Forest

4 Forest cover to 2017 (%) As of 31 December 2017, Viet Nam has 14,415,381 ha of forests, including 10,236,415 ha of natural forests (accounted for 71%) and 4,178,966 ha of planted forests (accounted for 29%).

5 Legislation and law enforcement 1. Law on Forest Protection and Management Decrees - Circulars - Regulations 2. Law Enforcement - Central level: Forest protection Department - Local levels: Provincial, district and commune

6 2. VPA/FLEGT VN-EU negotiation process TWG 1 TWG 2 TWG 3 TWG 4 TWG 5-10 TWG TWG 19 JEM >30 VC 1 st National consultati on Workshop 2 nd National consultati on Workshop 3 rd National consultati on Workshop 11/5/2017 Initialling Agreement

7 Contents of the Agreement LEGAL TEXT Annex I: Product Coverage Annex II: Timber Legality Definition (LD) Appendix 1 LD Organisations Appendix 2 LD Households Annex III: Conditions for free circulation of goods in the European Union Annex IV: FLEGT Licensing Appendix 1. FLEGT licensing template Annex V: Timber Legality Assurance System of Viet Nam (VNTLAS) Appendix 1. Development, verification and approval of legality verifiers for Organisations and Households Appendix 2. Supply chain control Appendix 3. Standard form for self-declaration Annex VI Terms of Reference for Independent Evaluation Annex VII Criteria for assessment of the operational readiness of VNTLAS Annex VIII Public disclosure of information Annex IX Joint Implementation Committee (JIC)

8 3. Introduction to VNTLAS VNTLAS is developed to ensure the compliance with the regulations related to individual stages of timber supply chain, including harvesting, importation, transport and trade, processing, and export. The whole supply chain will be legally controlled. Legally imported Legally harvested Legally transported Legally processed Legally exported

9 National system applied to: Application scope of VNTLAS 1. All timber sources 2. All markets 3. All operators Domestic natural forest timber Domestic timber from plantations Domestic timber from farms and scattered trees Domestic rubber wood Handled confiscated timber Imported timber Domestic market Export markets (EU and non EU) Timber growing and processing Households All timber production, trading and processing enterprises

10 4. Key commitments in VPA New regulations that will be applied in VNTLAS to: 1. Control of imported timber; 2. Organisations Classification System for risk-based verification and management (OCS); 3. Verification for export; 4. FLEGT Licensing.

11 Control of Imported Timber The control and management of imported timber to Viet Nam will be subject to new legislation and regulations, including: Self-declaration and Due Diligence requirements of timber importers (for imported timber without FLEGT License or CITES Permit). Risk-based control of timber imports: (i) timber species risk; (ii) risk related to geographic origin; (iii) customs risk management system. Additional evidence required to demonstrate legality in country of harvest for high risk imports (voluntary or national certification schemes recognised by VNTLAS, harvesting documents, or alternative additional documents). Viet Nam will recognize FLEGT Licenses from other VPA countries with fully operational licensing system.

12 Timber import shipments Timber import controls [6a] With CITES Permit [6b] With FLEGT License Without CITES Permit or FLEGT License Criteria for additional documentation requirement based on combination of species and geographic risks Species risk Low Low High High [6c] Self Declaration by importer demonstrating due diligence: Description of shipment; Identification of potential risks related to the legal origin of the shipment; Mitigation measures for any identified potential risks related to the legal origin of the shipment; Additional documentation demonstrating legal origin according to risk status A Additional documentation required [7a] Voluntary certification or national certification schemes recognized by VNTLAS And/or [7b] Legal harvesting document in line with law and regulations of country of harvest (HS 4403, 4406, 4407) Low No additional documentation Low HighV P Geographic risk Current Customs Documentation applied to all import shipments: [1] Customs declaration; [2] Trading invoice; [3] Sales contract; [4] Bill of lading or other equivalent shipping document; [5] Packing list of imported products.. Route 1: Standard customs documentation + CITES Permit Route 2: Standard customs documentation + FLEGT License Route 3: Standard customs documentation + Self Declaration Route 4: Standard customs documentation + Self Declaration + Additional documentation And/or [7c] Alternative documentation demonstrating legality of timber in accordance with legislation of country of harvest (in case the harvesting document is not required in the country of harvest for primary products, or importers cannot obtain harvesting document for complex products).

13 Organisation Classification System (OCS) The OCS shall apply to all Organisations in the VNTLAS supply chain. Organisations are classified in two Categories: Category 1 (compliant): Organisations that meet the criteria; Category 2 (non-compliant): Organisations that do not fully meet the criteria and newly established organisations.

14 Organisation Classification System (OCS) OCS shall be applied to all Organisations involved in forest plantation, timber and timber product processing, transportation, trade and export Criteria 1. Compliance with dynamic /supply chain control verifiers to ensure that only legal timber enters the supply chain Organisations Risk Category and minimum criteria for acceptance Category 1 Category 2 Fully compliant Any non-compliance 2. Fulfilment of supply chain declaration and reporting requirements 3. Compliance with static/establishment verifiers 4. Record of violations and sanctions 5. Other criteria Fully compliant Fully compliant No record of violations and sanctions Failure to submit declarations and reports as required Non-compliance Any record of violations and sanctions Newly established Organisations

15 Verification for Export Verification for export aims at assessing whether a shipment of timber to be exported is fully compliant with all VNTLAS requirements. The level of verification for export for Organisations is based on the OCS and risk-based verification. Different levels of verification apply to each Organisation risk category, as well as to Households, as follows: Category 1 Organisations: no additional verification. Category 2 Organisations: documentary checks and physical checks on all shipments. Physical checks will be carried out on a minimum of 20% of volume of each shipment of the Organisation. Households: documentary checks and physical checks on all shipments. Physical checks will be carried out on a minimum of 20% of volume of each shipment of the Household.

16 FLEGT Licensing FLEGT license shall be required for timber shipments to be exported to EU prior to customs clearance FLEGT Licensing Authority/VN CITES MA shall design software for online licensing in the direction of connecting with customs single-window system and database management system

17 5. VPA and VNTLAS implementation Initialling Agreement (May 2017) Ratification of Agreement (2018) Independent assessment of readiness of VNTLAS Start of FLEGT licensing Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Joint Preparation Committee established Joint Implementation Committee established

18 Joint Implementation Framework 8 Strategic Tasks 29 Outcome Areas Actions which contribute to and support each outcome area) 60 Milestones (or priority actions) to monitor progress Strategic Task ❶ VPA ratification process Strategic Task ❷ VPA management, monitoring and review mechanisms (JPC/JIC) Strategic Task ❸ Development of VNTLAS legal documents, regulations and information management systems Strategic Task ❹ Capacity building plans for verification agencies and private sector (Organisations & Households) Strategic Task ❺ Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for VPA implementation Strategic Task ❻ Information and communications strategy and products Strategic Task ❼ Stakeholder engagement, coordination and outreach mechanisms Strategic Task ❽ VPA-FLEGT connected and supporting actions

19 Thank you Tran Hieu Minh Deputy Director, Department of Science, Technology and International Cooperation Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST)