EUTR implementation in Germany

Transcription

1 EUTR implementation in Germany Experiences of private sector response during first year Chatham House Illegal Logging update London June 16-17, 2014 Thorsten Hinrichs BMEL

2 Stocktaking: WS in Hamburg in March One year EUTR-implementation in Germany 1. Report of Competent Authority 2. Report of Thünen-Centre of competence on timber origin 3. Experiences of the timber sector 4. Support for operators Folie 2

3 1. Competent autority For imports: Federal office for agriculture (BLE) (For national forest owners: forest-authorities of the Länder) controls operators Due Diligence System (DDS) documents Interviewing responsible staff of the company Inspecting warehouses Taking samples for analysis controls also Monitoring Organisations and traders Folie 3

4 Competent authority II Registered as operators: BLE controls following a risk based approach: Products, timber species, countries, quantity Using the DDS of a Monitoring Organisation? Certified (PEFC, FSC)? Controlled +/- 100 operators in % did not do Due Diligence properly Only collecting documents Treating Switzerland as EU Folie 4

5 Competent authority III 2013: Only admonitions (no severe offenses) Since 2014: sanctions! Administrative: fines up to Criminal: unlimited fine / up to 1 year of prison (higher sentences possible by criminal code for fraud, forgery etc.) One severe case based on prohibition: 180 m³ of Wengé from DRC in 3 shipments: timber seized since November Folie 5

6 What happens with seized timber? National law: BLE may seize timber and order that timber must be brought back (no proof for legality) sell timber and confiscate the money for the state (proof of illegality / false statements or falsification of documents) order that timber must be destroyed (intended only for timber that should not at all be on the market) All costs: operator Folie 6

7 2. Thünen Centre of competence 1. Wood anatomy: checking species 2. Genetics: checking species or origin 3. Checking certification claims and documents Inquiries are zooming up (Genetics: 10 fold) Authorities, timber trade, NGOs Further development: Species (and maybe even origin) in paper Origin in timber: accuracy rises, costs go down Folie 7

8 3. Experiences of timber sector DDS very demanding (especially for SMEs) Unfair competition from other importing countries Part of suppliers have to be replaced This means higher costs and lower business volume In general: information is available and chains are now more transparent The more importers are asking for it the more suppliers are willing to cooperate Most important: long-term cooperation with suppliers Folie 8

9 Experiences of timber sector II Who is operator / trader?: sufficiently clear but Agents issue : industry associations argue that agents are best placed to do the DDS (as they are closer to source) but are not usually the operator (it is their buyer). Problem of business secret Folie 9

10 Drawing the balance Timber sector has accepted the challenge Implementation in Germany has started well (though media and some NGOs are asking for more) But also still high uncertainty: what kind of documentation is necessary? High-risk-countries? Corruption-index? NGOs more reliable than governments? Main problem: uneven implementation within EU Folie 10

11 4. Support for operators Monitoring-organisations (so far NEPCon, Control Union, Bureau Veritas, Conlegno) Organisations like efeca, TFT, TRAFFIC, GTS: e.g. analysis of suppliers, availability of verification, ITsolutions etc. Certification (e.g. PEFC, FSC) Good foundation for DDS But no Green Lane Thünen Centre of competence on timber origin Most in demand: industry associations like GD Holz (member of ETTF) Folie 11

12 New EUTR Guide Made by IPD, the German Import Promotion Desk financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Target group: importers (especially SMEs) and suppliers from outside EU Partners: German sector associations (GD Holz, HDH, HDE, BHB, BWB); Suisse and Dutch Import Promotion Programmes SIPPO and CBI Available for download at ixpos, the German Business Portal (German and English version) Folie 12

13 Political interest / pressure Questions from Parliament Sanctions?, how many cases?, mandatory labeling? NGOs asking for strict approach Substantiated concerns Media Centre of competence Implementation of EUTR International: US, CH, Japan, Interpol Folie 13

14 Priorities of German gov. at the moment Cooperation with most active MS and with US Also common investigations planned Cooperation with CITES-authorities, customs and Interpol Promoting timber tracking International projects to collect reference data and to build capacity in partner countries Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN) International alliance necessary! Folie 14

15 Questions? Thorsten Hinrichs European and International Forest Policy Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) Rochusstr Bonn Germany thorsten.hinrichs@bmel.bund.de Folie 15