The UK has come out on top in a WWF report on European governments’ effectiveness against illegal logging.
The group’s online Government Barometer, which rates 12 countries on nine different steps needed to tackle the problem, gives Britain a “moderate to good” rating, ahead of Denmark, Germany and Sweden, which are credited with a “moderate” performance.
Only six of the countries, including the UK, have committed to buying wood from legal and sustainable sources but the UK is highighted as the sole country monitoring implementation of its public procurement policy.
The UK is also the only country to have a partnership with a wood-producing country (Indonesia) to combat illegal logging and related trade. The WWF says similar initiatives by other EU nations do not include clear targets to actively reduce the import of illegal wood and therefore cannot be seen as real partnerships.
However, the WWF said none of the countries achieved a satisfactory performance overall.
Mark O’Brien, the Timber Trade Federation‘s (TTF) head of public affairs, welcomed the recognition and said the private sector was also taking a lead through its own initiatives such as the TTF Code of Conduct, the Indonesian Action Plan and the development of a UK Responsible Purchasing Policy.
He said: “The plain fact is that it’s over to the supplier countries like Indonesia to play their part by enforcing their own forestry legislation and regulation. No one party can solve this problem on their own.”
