There was genuine emotion in the room in Brussels when Indonesia signed its EU Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade Voluntary Partnership Agreement (FLEGT VPA) in autumn 2013.

Forestry minister Zulkifli Hasan described it as a defining moment of his career and there were tears among other delegates, who included representatives from a range of civil society and private sector forestry and timber industry groups.

What the event highlighted was the deep investment that timber producer country stakeholders have in the FLEGT VPA process.

Of course, there’s frustration in the EU timber sector that, four years after the first supplier country signed a VPA, no FLEGT licensed timber has been delivered. It’s understandable. A FLEGT licence, backed by an EU and producer country developed and approved timber legality assurance system (TLAS), will give timber and wood products access to the EU without further due diligence illegality risk assessment under the EU Timber Regulation. That’s potentially a real commercial and logistical attraction.

However, while Indonesia and Ghana expect to get there soon (and 13 other countries are engaged in the FLEGT process), none are yet in a position to issue FLEGT licences.

But signatory countries are urging export market partners not to lose faith. One reason FLEGT licensing has been so long coming, they say, is because the procedures are so demanding.

Progress has also been slow because VPAs are not simply imposed top down. A key stipulation is that they also involve broad stakeholder engagement which by definition is complex and time consuming. However, say the stakeholders themselves, it’s also a supremely worthwhile part of the process in its own right and a prize that’s already being won. It has already resulted in greater transparency and accountability in signatory countries’ timber industries, and brought a far wider range of society into decision-making. Consequently, said one NGO, it is something the international timber trade should "publicise, nurture and cherish".

"This level of consultation between government, civil society, NGOs and the private sector never happened in these countries before," said Saskia Ozinga, campaign co-ordinator at NGO FERN. "In fact, it hasn’t happened anywhere, including Europe."

To encourage as extensive multi-stakeholder engagement in FLEGT as possible, the EU set guidelines for it rather than rigid rules. Stakeholders "notably non-state actors and indigenous peoples", were to be "regularly consulted in the design and implementation of VPAs", while the latter were to "strengthen their participation in policy making".

The experience of three countries at VPA implementation stage shows how this flexibility has led to different approaches. But their common thread is that stakeholder engagement has shaped their individual Agreements which, say stakeholders themselves, will ultimately reinforce the credibility of FLEGT licences for business, consumers and governments.

In Indonesia, civil society has largely been involved via NGOs, but they have drawn in numerous other interests.

The foundations for stakeholder engagement were laid under the development of its Timber Legality Verification System (SVLK), which launched in 2009 and now forms the basis of Indonesia’s FLEGT VPA TLAS. But according to Telapak, a consortium of NGOs, business, academics, media and indigenous peoples groups, the VPA process has built on those foundations, giving stakeholders greater leverage.

"There’s an awareness that without us, the VPA won’t happen," said Telapak forests campaign co-ordinator Abu Meridian.

Subsequent to Indonesia starting VPA negotiations, Telapak became co-ordinator of a new nationwide civil society consultation body, the Independent Forestry Monitoring Network (JPIK).

"Telapak relays their views to SVLK/ VPA negotiations and together we hold consultation events and annual workshops," said Mr Meridian.

"What’s also been encouraging in Indonesia, besides the energy from stakeholders, has been government enthusiasm for their involvement," said Indonesia FLEGT facilitator Andy Roby. "There’s a desire at political level to make this inclusive, perhaps stemming from Indonesia’s wider move to greater democracy."

Indonesia’s VPA experience since has not been trouble-free, but consultation with stakeholders is now standard for changes to its TLAS. They were also instrumental in adding annex 9 to the Agreement, stipulating greater transparency and public access to official documentation.

No-one pretends illegality has been entirely rooted out of the Indonesian timber sector either, but VPA stakeholder engagement has empowered civil society to press for abuse to be tackled. For instance, information and lobbying from stakeholders played a part in the recent prosecution of police officer Labora Sitorus for massive timber smuggling.

In addition, said Mr Roby, civil society and small businesses can now influence wider forestry policy.

"For instance they secured a change in the SVLK legality definition, allowing Papua to incorporate community land rights."

Some feel there’s scope for still wider community consultation in the country. But, as the Brussels signing showed, there’s evident pride in what it has been achieved so far. In fact, its VPA is seen as a model for stakeholder engagement in other industries, from mining to palm oil production.

"It has been an arduous journey, but everyone has had their say," said Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) forest campaigner Mardi Minangsari. "It shows it can and should be done in other sectors."

In Ghana multi-stakeholder engagement had a difficult birth. The country was among the first to express an interest in FLEGT, opening discussions in 2006. But while it had a ready-made starting block for stakeholder participation in Forest Watch Ghana (FWG), a coalition of over 35 NGOs, initially they weren’t on the VPA steering committee.

After civil society representatives vigorously voiced their dissatisfaction, however, FWG was invited on board. Subsequently it helped launch a VPA contact group including community groups, tribal representatives and unions, media and research bodies.

To develop the final VPA, a policy committee was also created including stakeholders, plus working groups for forestry legality definitions and standards, verification and licensing, domestic market regulation and timber industry restructuring.

"There was private sector resistance to involving civil society," said Chris Beeko, timber validation director at the Ghana Forestry Commission (GFC). "But its eventual acceptance of this, partly thanks to liaison with EU customers, has been a success of the VPA, as has the greater overall transparency."

The Ghanaian government also initiated moves to deepen engagement.

"They invited civil society and private sector representatives to observe EU negotiations," said Ghana FLEGT VPA facilitator Clare Brogan. "The message was ‘we want you to feel you can trust us’."

Temporary Loss of Impetus
The length of time taken between Ghana’s VPA negotiations and implementation resulted in temporary loss of impetus, said Ms Brogan.

"But now FLEGT licensing is in sight, there’s renewed stakeholder energy," she said.

"And licensing won’t be the end," said Mr Beeko. "As FLEGT’s benefits are seen, popular participation will increase."

The Liberian stakeholder experience was different again. The basis for civil society involvement in the forestry and timber sector also already existed, but here went deeper down to the grass roots.

"Bodies like the Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) and Community Forestry Development Committees (CFDC), a network of local groups, were already engaging in forest sector issues," said Matthew Walley, president of the National Union of CFDCs.

"So when VPA negotiations started in 2009, there were already channels for real community-level involvement."

Liberian community groups saw the VPA bringing further "checks and balances to forest management and the timber sector", and quickly established a stakeholder steering committee. They were also involved in talks in Brussels.

The CFDCs also encouraged wider involvement. "We even ran jingles about FLEGT in regional dialects on local radio!" said Mr Walley.

Again some private sector elements did not welcome what they saw as civil society telling them how to run their businesses.

"Some benefited from the illegal trade and saw the VPA TLAS as a threat to profits," said Mr Walley. "They had to be convinced FLEGT licensing could boost business with the EU." Liberian civil society also has outstanding issues in the forest sector, notably nonpayment of forestland rent.

"Local communities are owed US$1.4m by government as their share of loggers’ land rental tax," said FCI director Julie Weah.

"But we’re now more confident of resolution thanks to the VPA, as ministers know we won’t get FLEGT licensing until it’s paid."

According to Mr Walley, FLEGT reinforced Liberian forest laws and has given communities "a stronger platform to articulate interests, participate and ultimately share forestry industry benefits".

Liberians, consequently, would like to see the EU, and particularly the EU timber trade, acknowledge advances made so far and demonstrate commitment to FLEGT long term.

"We’re now seeing poorly educated local people discussing issues vital to their livelihoods with forestry authorities and business," said Mr Walley. "That never happened before."