Brussels, 09 January 2007
The Hon. M.S. Kaban, Minister of Forestry of Indonesia met Commissioners Louis Michel and Stavros Dimas, responsible for Development and Environment respectively, in Brussels on 8th January 2007. They agreed to initiate formal negotiations towards conclusion of a voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which will provide assurance that Indonesian forest products imported to the EU are verified to be legal. The agreement will also provide for cooperation, including capacity building, market and technical studies and knowledge-sharing.
The commitment to proceed with formal negotiations followed a series of informal consultations between Indonesia and the EU over the past year as well as intensive consultations amongst stakeholders in Indonesia.
Commissioner Dimas said: "Indonesia has played a leading role in placing illegal logging on the international agenda. The EU and Indonesia recognise that as consumers and producers of tropical timber we have a joint responsibility to eradicate illegal logging and move towards our shared goal of sustainable forest management".
Minister Kaban stated that "The Government of Indonesia appreciates EU’s support to Indonesia’s commitment in implementing the principles of sustainable forestry management. In the view of the future negotiations, Indonesia has already undertaken numerous multi-stakeholders’ consultations and it is hoped that the final VPA will provide both parties, Indonesia and the EU, with a sound basis for preventing export and import of illegally-harvested timber".
Commissioner Michel concluded by stating that "good governance is fundamental if the benefits of trade in forest products are to be shared by Indonesian society. The start of FLEGT negotiations is thus a very positive step for Indonesia's development and the sustainable management of its resources."
Initiated in 2015, the French Ministry for the Armed Forces organized the first international conference “Defence and climate: what are the stakes?”. Since then, the Ministry has been constantly adapting and developing its capacity of anticipation.
On 25 January 2019, the UN Security Council held an open debate to discuss the security implications of climate-related disaster events. The meeting, initiated by the Dominican Republic, underscored the global nature of climate-related disasters. Most speakers highlighted the need for better climate risk management as an important contribution to safeguarding international peace and security. The debate marks the beginning of a year in which climate security ranks high on the UN’s agenda.
Today, Friday 25th January 2019, the UN Security Council will hold an open debate addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security (at 4pm CET and 10am EST). President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic will chair the meeting, which will also include the participation of several member states at ministerial level.
The unabated growth of natural resource consumption raises risks that we will outstrip the capacities of ecosystems and governance institutions. At the same time, to achieve important global goals related to poverty alleviation, public health, equity and economic development such as those embodied in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we will simultaneously need more resources and better management of natural resources everywhere.