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."
A recently published paper by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has focused on the under-researched topic of how climate change impacts may affect violence in South and Southeast Asia. Titled “Climate change and violent conflict: Sparse evidence from South Asia and South East Asia”, the report highlights how little work has been done in looking at climate change and its possible impact on security in the most densely populated regions on the planet.
Every day humanitarian aid workers help millions of people around the world, regardless of who they are and where they are. With expert knowledge and support, humanitarian workers are well placed to create a better environment for the people that they serve as well as for themselves.
The pro-coal position of Poland’s energy ministry has thrown sand into the country’s climate diplomacy as COP24 president-designate Michał Kurtyka intensifies his diplomatic tour ahead of the United Nation’s annual climate meeting later this year in Katowice.
As governments take stock of the adequacy of the Paris Agreement, willingness to raise the level of ambition will depend significantly on confidence that a variety of promises are being kept. Many of these relate to fundamental commitments around international solidarity. A solidarity of which we are in sore need today, on far too many fronts.