Guidelines for Formulating and Implementing

National Action Plans to Combat Illegal Logging

and Other Forest Crime

Draft

10 April 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 1
2 MANAGING FORMULATION PROCESS 2
2.1 Political Process 2
2.2 Technical Process 3
2.3 Identification of Partners 3
2.4 Establishment of Coordination Mechanisms 4
2.4.1 Forum for Stakeholder Participation 5
2.4.2 Coordinating Unit 6
2.4.3 International Support 7
2.5 Enabling Stakeholder Participation 7
2.5.1 Distribution of Information 7
2.5.2 Obtaining Contributions from Stakeholders 8
3 TYPICAL CONTEXTS AND RESPONSES 11
3.1 Illegal Logging 13
3.1.1 Illegal Logging for Securing Subsistence 13
3.1.2 Small-scale Illegal Logging to Enhance Livelihoods 14
3.1.3 Large-scale Commercial Illegal Logging 16
3.1.4 Conflict Timber 17
3.2 Other Forest Crime 18
3.2.1 Irregular Timber Sales, Award of Concessions and Service Contracting 18
3.2.2 Evasion of Taxes, Royalties or Other Fees by Enterprises 19
3.2.3 Evasion of Taxes, Royalties or Other Fees by Communities or Private
Forest Owners 19
3.2.4 Circumvention of Labour Laws by Enterprises 19
3.2.5 Unauthorized Wood Processing 20
4 DEFINING CONTENTS FOR THE ACTION PLAN 20
4.1 Defining Illegal Activities to Be Targeted 21
4.2 Identifying Priority Strategies 22
4.3 Identifying Specific Activities and Defining Timeframe for Implementation 24
4.4 Identifying Opportunities for Resource Mobilization 29
4.4.1 Internal Resources within the Public Administration 29
4.4.2 Support from the Private Sector and Civil Society 29
4.4.3 Transboundary resources 29
4.4.4 External Assistance 30
4.5 Compiling Action Plan 31
5 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS 32
5.1 Organization 32
5.2 Monitoring 33
5.2.1 Structure of Indicator Set 33
5.2.2 Technical Arrangements 34
REFERENCES 36

GUIDELINES FOR FORMULATING AND IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL ACTION PLANS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL LOGGING AND OTHER
FOREST CRIME. Draft. 10 April 2006. i
List of Tables

Table 3.1 Potential Drivers and Reponses Related to Illegal Logging, Illegal
Conversion of Forest Land and Other Forest Crime ......................................11
Table 4.1 Typical Contexts for International Assistance................................................30

List of Boxes

Box 2.1 Forestry and Anti-corruption Measures in Moldova ........................................5

Box 2.3 Interagency Task Force in Albania...................................................................6
Box 2.4 Process of Formulating Action Plan in Bosnia-Herzegovina...........................6
Box 2.4 Interaction between Government and Stakeholders in Estonia ......................10
Box 4.1 Insulating the Head of Forest Administration from Undue Influences in
Bolivia ............................................................................................................25
Box 4.2 British Columbia’s Independent Forest Watchdog ........................................27
Box 5.1 Successful Partnership in Ecuador to Promote Forest Law Enforcement ......35

List of Figures

Figure 4.1 Step-wise Approach of Four Main Stages......................................................21

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1 INTRODUCTION

Illegal activities in the forest sector, especially illegal logging, have become a major topic on
the global forestry agenda. Globally, it is estimated that that illegal logging in public lands
alone causes losses in assets and revenue in excess of USD 10 billion annually (World Bank
2002). In addition to the financial losses, illegal logging poses a threat to the sustainable
management and conservation of forest resources. It impacts negatively on local communities
and indigenous forest-dependent people and contributes to weak governance and lawlessness
in general e.g. by providing opportunities for money laundering and weakening the rule of
law in forest areas. Legitimate forest enterprises are subjected to unfair competition and
discouraged from making socially and environmentally responsible investments into the
sector.

Trade has been identified as an important driver of illegal logging and other forest crime.
Consequently, combating this phenomenon requires both strengthening forest governance in
problematic producer countries and implementing environmentally and socially responsible
procurement policies in consumer countries.

Not all illicit activities in the forest sector are driven by commercial interests. They may also
be driven by poverty and lack of feasible alternatives (e.g. illegal harvesting of fuelwood),
requiring very different approaches from those related to commercial illegal logging and
associated forest crime.

The seriousness of the problem is increasingly recognized by affected governments and other
stakeholders worldwide as indicated by the large number of international and national
initiatives launched recently. Since September 2001, three regional Forest Law Enforcement
and Governance (FLEG) Ministerial Conferences to address this issue have taken place, in
East Asia (2001), Africa (2003), and most lately (2005) in Europe and North Asia (the ENA
region). Several international and intergovernmental organizations such as the World Bank,
the European Union, FAO, and ITTO provide substantial technical and financial support to
governments and stakeholders grappling with the problem. The Group of Eight Industrialized
Countries (G8) has included illegal logging in its forestry agenda, and several bilateral donors
have prioritized the issue in their work.

The St. Petersburg Declaration, result of the ENA FLEG Ministerial Conference on Forest
Law Enforcement and Governance, expresses the strong commitment of the governments of
the ENA region to address critical issues related to illegal logging and other forest crime.
Concrete actions, as outlined in the Declaration have already been initiated by a number of
countries, and others are planning to embark on similar actions.

However, many of the involved governments and stakeholders have indicated that they are
unfamiliar with the methodologies and approaches applied in such processes, and that they
would appreciate having access to more developed technical aids. These guidelines were
formulated to respond to this call based on the experiences obtained in developing this type of
participatory plans both within and outside of the ENA region. The aim is to provide a
relatively simple tool establishing a framework for the analytical process as well as enabling
focused discussions in workshops and other consultations with the stakeholders.

The guidelines have three focal areas (i) conducting the formulation process, (ii) designing
contents for the Action Plan, and (iii) establishing arrangements to implement the Action

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FOREST CRIME. Draft. 10 April 2006. 1
Plan. The guidelines are best suited for countries where criminal acts are associated primarily
with domestic timber production or where controlling timber imports is a pertinent measure.
In regional terms, the guidelines have highest relevance in the ENA region.

The guidelines have been developed by SAVCOR-INDUFOR in collaboration with the World
Bank ENA FLEG Secretariat, and should be seen as a “living document” to be improved on
and updated continuously based on experiences from practitioners. Comments, additions and
improvements to the guidelines are welcome, and should be addressed to the World Bank
ENA FLEG Secretariat to [email protected].

2 MANAGING FORMULATION PROCESS

Formulation of Action Plans is as much a political process as it is technical. Management of

the political aspects involves reconciliation of the various stakeholder interests in a manner
that enables change. Proper technical management ensures that the process is democratic and
that all relevant stakeholder groups have an equal and real chance to contribute to the
outcome.

The way in which technical management should be handled can be staked out in more
concrete terms than the political process where the process managers have to deal with a web
of interests and easily changing interest coalitions. As in politics in general, there are no
“hard-and-fast rules” to rely on but the past experience suggests that there are a few general
principles that successful managers follow.

2.1 Political Process

Where the economic stakes in illegal activities are high, powerful interest groups can have
their way even if the outcome is clearly negative from the society’s point of view. For
instance, in Ecuador the use of independent monitors was stopped – as soon as monitoring
proved its effectiveness. Obviously, the stakeholders that wished to bring about a change by
introducing the independent monitors did not have the political clout necessary to resist the
interests that benefited from status quo.

There is rarely one stakeholder group that is able to push through a major change in the
established power balance. Instead, successful change processes rely on coalitions of several
interest groups with different capacities. Local and international NGOs have often managed to
bring the problem of illegal logging out in the open and raise awareness among politicians
and the general public of the need to act. Representatives from interest groups directly
involved in timber production can wield considerable influence among their peers and
colleagues. It is also important to identify and win the support of high-level “political
champions” who are able to fend off efforts to slow down the implementation of the proposed
measures through behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

To identify a “coalition for change” with respect to illegal logging, it is necessary to map out
the stakeholder landscape to identify those who benefit from the current situation and those
who are negatively affected by it. It is also important to realize that there may be hidden
motives; true interest may be different from what is said in public. For instance, forest

GUIDELINES FOR FORMULATING AND IMPLEMENTING NATIONAL ACTION PLANS TO COMBAT ILLEGAL LOGGING AND OTHER
FOREST CRIME. Draft. 10 April 2006. 2
enterprises may see benefits in the elimination of illegal logging but are reluctant to express
their views for fear that corrupt officials react negatively and restrict their timber supply.

Partners willing to support the development and implementation of Action Plan can be found
among many stakeholder groups. Ministry of Finance and local municipalities are probably
interested in the increased tax revenue that reduction of illegal activities could bring about.
Forest enterprises may be motivated to join the effort because of market pressure or ethical
reasons. Local people whose rights are trampled by illegal loggers are potential partners as
well as NGOs concerned about protection of the environment, human rights, and democracy.
In addition, there are always individuals in all stakeholder groups and institutions including
public forest administration who need no other motivation than pursuit for fairness and
justice. The aim of the political process is to bring all these partners together to enable them to
reinforce each other.

2.2 Technical Process

Action Plans are formulated in highly varied contexts; the extent and character of the problem
may be vastly different from one country to the other. The key drivers may be inside or
outside the forest sector, irregularities may concentrate in public administration or in the
private sector, related processes may be underway etc. All such circumstances may have a
bearing on the way in which the formulation process is best conducted and any guidelines
should therefore be applied flexibly adapting them to the local context.

Still, there are a few basic elements which should in one way or another be found in every
sound process. The key steps include:
(i) Identification of partners in public and private sectors and among civil society
(ii) Establishment of mechanisms for co-ordination
(iii) Conducting a participatory planning process

The main issues and options in taking the formulation process through these steps are
discussed in the following chapters.

2.3 Identification of Partners

Illegal activities in the forest sector have impacts beyond the forest sector and the remedies
must often be sought by partnering with players in related sectors and at higher levels of
administration. Where illegal timber finds its way to export markets, international cooperation
may be necessary to effectively address the problem.

National partners may include:

• government institutions from the forestry and forest industries sector;
• representatives from the government and higher levels of public administration and
related sectors such as judiciary, police force, energy, agriculture etc.;
• representatives of civil society including non-governmental organizations,
community-based organizations, special user groups (e.g. forest dwellers, farmers);
• representatives of private sector such as industry associations and private enterprises;
• research and training institutions; and

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 • representatives of on-going initiatives or development projects focusing on forest and
forest industries sector or areas potentially related to illegal activities in the forest
sector such as judiciary, police force, energy, agriculture, anti-corruption, awareness
raising, etc.

Government institutions in forestry and forest industries sector obviously play a key role.
Still, it is equally important to involve partners from the government and higher levels of
public administration where the decision-making power lies. Preferably, the involved officials
should have limited or no stake in the forest sector. Collaboration with judiciary and police
force should be sought from early on to ensure that potential bottlenecks for effective law
enforcement can be properly tackled. Representatives from other sectors such as energy and
agriculture can be invited to join depending on how they impact on illegal activities in the
forest sector. Since illegal activities are often a regional or local phenomenon, it is important
that regional and local stakeholders are fully integrated in the process.

Participation of the private sector and civil society is highly necessary to provide a balanced
representation of views in the formulation process. Research institutions can furnish valuable
background information, and training institutions are able to contribute with assessments on
training needs and capacity. Relevant on-going initiatives and development projects in related
sectors (e.g. energy, agriculture, public sector reform, anti-corruption) should be actively
involved in the process; they often have potential to make significant contributions to
activities in the forest sector through minor modifications in their scope and activities.

If necessary, the support of international agencies and other actors can be sought to provide
technical and financial assistance. International partners may include:
• international enterprises involved in timber harvesting, wood processing and timber
exports
• international NGOs
• development banks and intergovernmental agencies
• bilateral agencies

International enterprises sometimes play a major role in timber harvesting, wood processing
and exports. Apart from providing viewpoints from the private sector, they are often able to
benefit the process with their experience of international schemes related to illegal logging.
International NGOs have accumulated substantial experience of the combat against illegal
logging, especially monitoring and participatory approaches.

Development banks and intergovernmental agencies can provide technical assistance drawing
on their global experience both in the formulation and subsequent implementation phases.
Similarly, bilateral agencies often have a wide pool of expertise available. They can also be a
link to other government agencies in their home countries working towards elimination of
illegal imports. If major investments become necessary in the implementation phase,
development banks are a potential source of funding.

2.4 Establishment of Coordination Mechanisms

Coordination mechanisms will be needed to bring the various stakeholders together in a

systematic and organized manner and to provide leadership for the preparation of the Action
Plan. Various mechanisms can be put in place but given the significant differences in the

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extent and character of illegal activities in the forest sector, it is necessary to carefully tailor
them to need. Mechanisms can lack authority to push through necessary reforms or they may
be overly complex considering the magnitude of the problem.

Generally, the coordination mechanism should include two components:

(1) Forum for stakeholder participation, and
(2) Coordinating unit charged with running the process.

2.4.1 Forum for Stakeholder Participation

To provide a forum for stakeholder participation at least the following options could be
considered:

(i) Rely on existing mechanisms. This is a good option provided that the mechanism has a
focus that is sufficiently close to forest sector. For instance, entrusting the process
with an existing consultative forum focused on forest sector (e.g. under National
Forest Programmes) would be a suitable arrangement. They would have established
procedures for stakeholder participation as well as links to higher levels of decision-
making. This would also ensure the integration of Action Plans into a broader context.
The other option is to integrate the process under existing coordination mechanisms at
high levels of public administration. Their main advantage is that they are able to exert
stronger influence on decision-makers than mechanisms at sector level. However, this
benefit has to be weighed against the risk that high-level bodies usually have a broad
scope and sectoral issues receive limited attention (Box 2.1 ).

Box 2.1 Forestry and Anti-corruption Measures in Moldova

In Moldova, Agenda 21 identified forestry sector as one of those where corruption is rife and
measures to eradicate needs to be undertaken. However, anti-corruption measures did not find their
way into subsequent forest sector plans, possibly because the coordinating body was focused on other
sectors considered to have higher priority.

(ii) Establish a High-Level Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Body. This is a recommended

option, if the magnitude and character of the problem warrants it. Inter-ministerial
participation creates an authoritative body with capacity to catalyze reforms even in
sensitive areas. To enhance its impact, representatives from the private sector and civil
society should be invited to participate (Box 2.2).
However, establishment of such a body is a major challenge. High-level politicians
and civil servants have limited time available and unless their active participation and
can be guaranteed, the arrangement may be counterproductive. Unless key members
find participation worth their time, the body could be become an “empty shell” and a
bottleneck for decision-making.

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Box 2.2 Interagency Task Force in Albania

In Albania, the Government created a special structure, the Task Force Commission for Forest
Resource Protection, to address the problem of illegal logging. The Task Force was established after
formulating the Action Plan for Illegal Logging. The Task force involves 11 ministries and
governmental institutions. Representation would, however, be more balanced if private sector and civil
society were involved.

(iii) Arrange ad hoc stakeholder meetings. This option can usually be implemented swiftly
without the inertia involved in establishing more formal and permanent bodies. In
many cases ad hoc arrangements are sufficient to obtain stakeholder opinions.
Provided that the key players are willing to invest time and effort into these meetings,
they can also have substantial influence on decision-making at higher levels.
The main risk involved in ad hoc arrangements is that follow-up remains weak.
Because of the ease of setting up the process, participation does not necessarily
indicate strong commitment to the process; it may be difficult to secure continued
support from all stakeholders. On the other hand, once launched, the process itself
may become the catalyst generating interest among the participants; their commitment
may be won only by putting the process into motion, and demonstrating the benefits
that will be generated.

Box 2.3 Process of Formulating Action Plan in Bosnia-Herzegovina

In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the process of preparing Action Plans was launched in fall 2005 with
stakeholder meetings organized in the two administrative entities, Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina
and Republika Srpska. Further consultation took place by providing the stakeholders to provide written
comments on the draft Action Plan. Even though the process was “light”, it appears that the key
objective set for it, obtaining political endorsement, will be achieved in spring 2006.

2.4.2 Coordinating Unit

The institutional home of the Coordinating Unit, the Lead Agency, should be able to shield
the Coordinating Unit from undue influence. Often, the best option is to place it at a high
administrative level outside the ministries which themselves may be involved in illegal
activities. For instance, the President’s office or a similar institution would be suitable
alternatives. If the Coordination Unit is established in the ministries directly affected by
illegal activities, it should be subordinated directly to the Minister.

The number of staff in the Coordination Unit depends on the expected work load. The main
functions of the Coordinating Unit are to
• liaise with all national and international partners;
• prepare a work plan for the formulation process;
• organize public meetings, information sessions, and workshops;
• coordinate contributions from all sources;
• prepare technical documents; and
• keep all relevant stakeholder groups fully informed of the process.

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2.4.3 International Support

Some countries may invite international partners to assist in the formulation process to
provide technical and funding support. The way in which international inputs should be
coordinated depends on the number of agencies interested to become involved in the
preparation and implementation of Action Plan. In Bosnia-Herzegovina one of the donor
agencies has been identified as a contact point through which the contributions of other
agencies are coordinated. This option is relevant if the number of agencies is large. If number
of international partners is limited, the liaison may be arranged directly with the coordination
unit.

2.5 Enabling Stakeholder Participation

The formulation of Action Plan needs to be conducted in a participatory manner involving all
identified stakeholders (see ch. 2.3). A participatory approach requires that
(i) the stakeholders are kept continuously informed of the process, and that
(ii) they have an opportunity to contribute to the formulation of the Action Plan in all
critical stages.

At the beginning of the process, it is vital that stakeholders understand what significance their
participation has. The issue that often creates confusion is how the results of the participatory
process feed into political decision-making. Stakeholders frequently expect that the Action
Plan coming out of the participatory process will be implemented without further
modifications. The political decision-makers, on the other hand, usually take the view that
they have the right to make alterations to the Plan. The stakeholders commonly argue that the
outcome of a (true) participatory process represents the views of all concerned parties, and
that political decision-making has little to add to it. The political decision-makers tend to
consider that they are elected officials who are accountable to the public at large, whereas the
stakeholders have not been elected in a democratic process and their interests are therefore not
fully representative. The way in which the issue is handled should be clarified and
communicated early on to all stakeholders.

2.5.1 Distribution of Information

The Coordination Unit is responsible for ensuring that all identified stakeholders are made
aware of the plan to launch the formulation of Action Plan, and that they will be offered
opportunities to contribute to it. It is particularly important to make key decision-makers
aware of the process and its objectives.

Dissemination of information should continue throughout the process. Information should be

available to prepare stakeholders for important milestones (e.g. workshop) and to report on
their results. The latter is particularly important to allow stakeholders to verify that the various
outcomes of the process are understood and interpreted in a uniform manner by all
participants to the process. Lack of appropriate documentation easily dilutes the impact of
participatory processes.

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2.5.2 Obtaining Contributions from Stakeholders

Due to varying circumstances, the formulation process can take many shapes, and require an
effort of varying intensity. However, in most cases the participatory process would benefit, if
the following stages were included:

Collection of background
information

Analysis of drivers and

potential response strategies

Formulation of first draft of

Action Plan

Formulation of final draft of

Action Plan

Political endorsement

Collection of background information. This should involve both a review of available

documentation as well as preliminary gauging of stakeholder views. As illegal activities are
usually a multi-dimensional problem, it is necessary to ensure that data is collected with a
broad scope on all relevant aspects. In particular, one should avoid the pitfall of focusing
strictly on law enforcement. Consultations with stakeholders will help in identifying the most
critical issues and directing the data collection towards them.

In most countries, some information on illegal activities in the forest sector already exists.
However, it is often of variable quality and to validate it, an independent analytical
assessment may be necessary. This analysis should have sufficiently wide coverage.

If the available data is of such poor quality that no reliable conclusions on the extent and type
of illegal activities can be made, the preparation of Action Plans should be preceded by a
basic investigation into the matter. If there are indications that illicit activities are a major
problem, the analysis is often best handled by commissioning it to independent experts. Local
and international NGOs have frequently been the groundbreakers in collecting evidence on
illegal activities and flagging the problem to local and international audiences. Private sector
companies may also be contracted to undertake the investigation.

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However, analyzing clandestine activities is a complex undertaking and often constrained by
lack of resources. Despite best efforts, the evidence on illegal logging and other forest crime
may remain anecdotal and contradictory. To move forward, the available data could be
subjected to scrutiny by various stakeholders with a view to generating a consensus estimate
on the magnitude of illegal activities. Perfect information should not be required; the aim is to
assess whether (i) the probable extent of illegal activities is such that special action such as
formulation of Action Plans is justified, and (ii) available information is sufficiently accurate
to allow proper identification of the main strategies and lines of action.

Analysis of drivers behind illegal activities and identification of potential response

strategies. This is a key stage. Technical experts should provide a framework for the analysis
but it is recommended that the analysis be taken further in a workshop where all stakeholders
participate. Often, the critical hindrance for taking action on illegal logging is not so much
lack of information rather than lack of opportunities to put pressure on decision-makers. A
workshop with open dialogue allowing stakeholders to challenge each others’ views can be a
powerful instrument in catalyzing action. The moral justification for eliminating illegal
logging is so strong that inaction can hardly be justified. However, it is necessary to ensure
that the analysis is sufficiently broad and that proper issues are addressed. The methodology
for conducting the workshop could be based on the approach presented in ch. 4.

The first draft of the Action Plan. The first draft should be based on indications obtained
from the stakeholders regarding the preferred response strategies. Drafting should be done by
a technically highly qualified expert. At this stage it is important to check whether the Action
Plan can be integrated with other initiatives such as National Forest Programmes (NFP).
Other initiatives may also provide substantial inputs. For instance, in Bosnia-Herzegovina a
large part of the planned activities in the Action Plan will be implemented under the on-going
forest sector institutional development programme. Comments on the first draft should be
solicited from all identified stakeholders giving them reasonable time to respond.

The final draft of the Action Plan. The final draft should be prepared by revising the first
draft based on the feedback received from the stakeholders. If the comments require only
minor revisions, it may be sufficient to incorporate the comments into the first draft and send
the revised version back to stakeholders with a brief account of the comments received and
the revisions made. If the comments require major changes in the first draft, the stakeholders
should be given an opportunity to react to the proposed changes. This could be done in a
second workshop involving all stakeholders from the first workshop or only selected
representatives from all stakeholder groups (see also Box 2.4). The latter option is often
preferable as discussion in a smaller group is more efficient. However, it is necessary to
ensure that representation of stakeholders remains balanced. At this stage, it would be highly
desirable to involve selected decision-makers in the deliberations so that the stakeholders
could interact with them directly.

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Box 2.4 Interaction between Government and Stakeholders in Estonia

To enhance transparency, the Estonian government has used an interesting approach providing
“feedback-on-feedback” when formulating National Forest Policy (1997) and National Forest
Programme (2002). All comments received from stakeholders on the first draft of the document in
question were organized in a table with the following complementary information
• comment
• stakeholder group that provided the comment
• government’s view on the comment
• indication whether or not the comments was incorporated in the draft text.
The table constituted the basis for a high-level discussion with the Minister from the Lead Agency and
selected stakeholder groups. The table served to make the arguments on both sides explicit and it also
managed to focus the discussion on key issues. The final draft was produced after this discussion was
held.
Source: Former National Coordinator Mr. Aigar Kallas, 2006

Political endorsement of the Action Plan. Once the final draft of the Action Plan is
approved by the stakeholders, the process moves to obtaining political endorsement for the
final draft. This is a key step, since the proposal often includes measures that are sensitive and
cannot be implemented without political approval. Whether to seek endorsement from the
government or the parliament depends on the local context; obtaining governmental approval
is usually speedier but endorsement from the parliament provides continuity; change of
government would not necessarily cancel the approval.

The modalities of seeking the endorsement should be discussed and agreed in the stakeholder
forum but, in practice, the official request would have to be made according to the local
administrative procedure. Often, the arrangement is to have a high-level official or Minister
from the Lead Agency to make the submission. To expedite the process, the stakeholder
groups should be active in lobbying and communicating their views to the
government/parliament. The coordinating unit could launch a supporting media campaign to
raise awareness of the Action Plan and the submission among the general public.

It is emphasized that the endorsement of the Action Plan does not automatically bring about
the proposed changes. It provides political backing and facilitates further steps but tangible
changes will be obtained only through subsequent legislative work, institutional changes or
field implementation. To ensure that the intentions expressed in the Action Plan become
reality, intensive follow-up is necessary. This is a highly critical stage and stakeholders
should remain active providing information and lobbying for the implementation of the
Action Plan among the decision-makers. It is particularly important to follow closely the
legislative process to make sure that the proposed legislative changes are implemented as
proposed in the Action Plan.

In addition, political processes may be lengthy and the positive momentum gathered during
the preparation of the Action Plan is easily lost, if no concrete action is undertaken. To avoid
this, it is advisable to immediately move on to implementing actions that are non-
controversial and do not require political approval. In this manner the process will be kept
alive, even if progress on the political front were slow. Parliamentary decisions may be
subject to delays that have nothing to do with sector specific issues but rather the broad
political context.

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3 TYPICAL CONTEXTS AND RESPONSES

To design an effective Action Plan, it is necessary to understand the broader framework

underpinning illegal activities, particularly the drivers instigating illegal activities. It is also
necessary to target the Action Plan appropriately on activities with most serious negative
consequences. It is usually unfeasible to try to eliminate all illicit activities in one
comprehensive sweep. A phased approach may not only be more realistic but also more
effective; if available resources are spread too thinly over many activities, there is a risk that
the impact will be limited in all spheres.

While each country is unique and needs a tailored approach to combating illegal activities,
there are nevertheless patterns that are typical for certain contexts. The following chapter
provides an overview of frequently encountered drivers behind illegal activities as well as
examples on best practice responses. The depicted cases may not reflect the situation in any
individual country; the discussion is intended only as a stimulus for the thinking process. In
this presentation, illicit activities have been grouped into illegal logging, and other forest
crime. Table 3.1 provides a quick summary of the discussion.

Table 3.1 Potential Drivers and Reponses Related to Illegal Logging, Illegal
Conversion of Forest Land and Other Forest Crime

Typical contexts Potential drivers Potential responses Type

P=prevention
D=detection
S=suppression
Illegal logging
Illegal logging - people unable to meet their - legalize illegal use and/or simplify P
for securing basic needs regulations concerning access to public
subsistence forest resources
- create opportunities for income generation P
- lack/high cost of alternative - offer alternatives to fuelwood as energy P
energy sources source
Small-scale - poverty - create opportunities for income generation P
illegal logging - complex legal procedures - reduce bureaucracy and fees associated with P
to enhance related to harvesting and access legal timber harvesting
livelihoods by to forest resources
- people without - disputes over land tenure - clarify land tenure, consider establishing P
legal access local tenure of forest land
forest land - poorly organized, under- - strengthen forest law enforcement D+S
- managers/ resourced and corrupt forest law - improve internal control on law enforcement D+S
owners of enforcement staff
community - corrupt community leaders - improve internal control in communities D+S
forests - criminal groups organizing - strengthen co-operation with police force D+S
- private forest illegal logging by recruiting and judiciary and target the
owners rural poor organizers/financiers behind these activities
- inefficient legal procedures - amend forest-related legislation and penalty
code P
Large-scale - poorly motivated staff in public - reorganize public forest administration to P
commercial forest administration/enterprises increase staff motivation
illegal logging
- high cost of legal timber - reduce bureaucracy and fees associated with P
legal timber harvesting
- capacity of wood processing - embark on phased programme of capacity P
industries exceeding legal reduction in wood processing industries
supply - increase supply by establishing plantations
or adjusting forest management regulations P
- export demand insensitive to - collaborate with governments and private P
legality of timber sector in importing countries to increase
demand for legal timber/deter imports of
illegal timber

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Typical contexts Potential drivers Potential responses Type
P=prevention
D=detection
S=suppression
Large-scale - poorly organized and corrupt - increase resources and enhance D+S
commercial forest law enforcement and independence of forest law enforcement
illegal logging auditing system - enhance effectiveness of financial audits on D
(contd) public forest administration/enterprises
- provide support to patrolling networks
among private forest owners D
- inadequate monitoring data on - improve data management and transparency D
timber flows and origin of in public forest administration/enterprises
timber - promote responsible business practices
(chain-of-custody systems, certification) in P
private industries
- inefficient legal procedures - strengthen co-operation with police force S
and judiciary
- provide owners/managers of community and S
private forests with legal services
- amend forest-related legislation and penalty P
code
Conflict timber - high cost of armed conflict - focus on conflict resolution/management P
- poor control of timber imports - improve controls on origin of timber D
in recipient countries
- ineffective international - promote international collaboration in S
sanctions sanctioning conflict timber
Other forest crime
Irregular timber - low risk of sanctions - improve procedures for timber sales and P
sales, award of awarding concessions to increase
concessions and transparency and accountability
service - increase proportion of timber P
contracting sold/concessions awarded through
competitive bidding
- poorly motivated staff in public - reorganize public forest administration to P
forest administration/enterprises increase staff motivation
- poorly organized and corrupt - enhance effectiveness of financial audits on D
financial audit system public forest administration/enterprises
- improve data management and transparency
in public forest administration/enterprises D
- inefficient legal procedures - strengthen cooperation with police force and S
judiciary
- amend penalty code P
Evasion of taxes, - unreasonably high tax burden in - adjust taxes as appropriate P
royalties and relation to timber price and - impose sanctions on enterprises found guilty S
other fees general tax level of tax evasion
by enterprises - poorly organized and corrupt - enhance effectiveness of financial audits on D
financial audit system enterprises
- inadequate accounting systems - oblige enterprises to provide required D
in private enterprises information in an easily accessible form
- inefficient legal procedures - strengthen cooperation with police force and S
judiciary to achieve minimum acceptable
level of compliance
- amend penalty code P
Evasion of taxes, - low risk of sanctions - adjust taxes, royalties and other fees to a P
royalties and level where most communities/private forest
other fees by owners would make the payments
communities voluntarily
or private forest - inadequate accounting systems - promote sound accounting practices in D
owners in private community forestry
enterprises/communities - enhance effectiveness of external financial D+S
audits on community forests and private
woodlots within the limits of available
resources
- inefficient legal procedures - strengthen cooperation with police force and S
judiciary to achieve minimum acceptable
level of compliance
- amend penalty code P

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Typical contexts Potential drivers Potential responses Type
P=prevention
D=detection
S=suppression
Circumvention of - indifferent attitude in - impose sanctions on enterprises found guilty P
labor laws enterprises towards labor laws of circumventing labor laws
- poorly organized and corrupt - impose sanctions or disciplinary actions on D
oversight companies proven to circumvent regulations
- inefficient legal procedures - strengthen cooperation with police force and S
judiciary to achieve minimum acceptable
level of compliance
- amend penalty code P
Unauthorized - strong domestic and export - enable an increase in authorized processing P
wood processing demand encouraging capacity by increasing legal timber supply
unauthorized wood processing
and illegal logging
- excessive bureaucracy related to - simplify licensing procedure P
licensing
- poorly organized and corrupt - impose sanctions or disciplinary actions on D
oversight companies proven to circumvent regulations
- inefficient legal procedures - strengthen cooperation with police force and S
judiciary
- amend penalty code P

3.1 Illegal Logging

3.1.1 Illegal Logging for Securing Subsistence

Typical context: Illegal logging related to securing basic subsistence involves poor individuals
without adequate supply of timber from legal sources to meet their basic needs. Mostly, the
needs relate to supply of fuelwood but some construction timber for shelters may also be
needed. Law enforcement does not have the capacity, and often not even the will, to prevent
this type of illegal logging.

Regions: Central Asia, some countries in the Balkans.

Recommended response: When subsistence needs are at risk, the emphasis of any response
measures needs to be on prevention. Detection and suppression have little relevance in a
situation where basic needs cannot be met. Often, the fundamental conflict is between
environmental protection and satisfaction of social needs; in many cases it is difficult to
achieve both.

The starting point is to adopt an approach that is able to effectively close the gap between
supply and demand. The option available for immediate action is to legalize current illegal
fuelwood cutting, and by amending the legislation to increase legal supply to a level that
enables satisfaction of basic needs. In some countries, this may have to be done at the cost of
temporarily sacrificing environmental sustainability. However, controlled excess is usually
better than uncontrolled.

Detection of illegal logging for subsistence needs is difficult and costly since extracted
volumes are typically small and the number of perpetrators is large. Usefulness of detection is
also doubtful, as further action is not necessarily taken. If illegal logging is perceived to be a
result of extreme need, it is often condoned by law enforcement staff, and courts show
leniency towards the perpetrators

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In the longer term, the demand for timber can be decreased by providing alternative sources
of energy at no or low cost for the rural poor. Ultimately, the problem can be solved only if
rural poverty is reduced. The forest sector can contribute to these efforts by designing
appropriate policies but usually one sector’s efforts are not enough; the activities need to be
part of all broader policies, strategies and plans for rural development and energy provision.

3.1.2 Small-scale Illegal Logging to Enhance Livelihoods

Local People Without Legal Access to Forest Land

Typical context: Local people illegally harvest timber in publicly owned forests, or less often
in community or privately owned forests. In some cases they may claim customary rights to
the public forest land in which they harvest their timber. Both fuelwood and logs are
harvested sold at local markets or to middlemen to enhance livelihoods. Law enforcement
staff has limited resources and is unable to control illegalities. Illicit activities may be
facilitated by petty corruption among public officials. In some cases, illegal logging is
instigated and coordinated by large-scale commercial operators.

Regions: All.

Recommended response: The strategy to combat this type of illegal activities should be based
on a clear vision of forest ownership. The option to transfer tenure and management rights to
local people, especially where they have customary rights, should be carefully assessed. Local
people often have continuous presence in the forest, and in appropriate circumstances, they
may have the interest to protect the forest against illegal logging and manage it for the long
term. Privatization or lease of state forest to responsible private enterprises is another option
to consider.

However, circumstances vary and local tenure may not always be a realistic option.
Establishing an adequate institutional environment to support this arrangement may be
unfeasible or there is a risk that the opportunity to obtain short-term gains proves too
attractive for the communities. In this case, maintaining public ownership forests and setting
emphasis on developing alternative livelihoods for local people may be the most appropriate
long-term strategy. Privatization involves a similar risk.

Where forests stay in public ownership, effective prevention of illegal logging requires that
forest managers are interested and capable of protecting their forest. If public forest
administration is charged with management, resources to protect the forest against external
threat have to be adequate. In addition, the forest administration’s institutional structure has to
be such that it discourages corruption and provides staff with incentives for protection. In
forests managed by concessionaires or other private entities, the responsibility for protection
has to be clearly included in the concession agreement with appropriate sanctions if violations
occur.

When dealing with small-scale illegal logging, it is necessary to ascertain that the root cause
is addressed. Frequently, local people involved in illegal logging have been organized by
large-scale commercial operators who provide incentives, resources and marketing outlets for
individuals agreeing to work for them. Focusing on people engaged in small-scale illegal
logging is an ineffective approach, if the people orchestrating the operations cannot be

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brought to justice. Where this is the case, the emphasis should be set on the approach
presented in ch. 3.1.3.

Community Forests

Typical context: Managers of community forests do not respect forest management

regulations. Legal logging may be burdened by excessive bureaucracy (e.g. with respect to
preparing and implementing forest management plans) or tax payments or other fees which
are seen unreasonably high. Illegal activities are committed by individuals or they are
organized by community leadership. In the latter case, community leaders may co-operate
with commercial illegal loggers to market the extracted timber. Community leaders may also
divert part of community benefits for their personal use.

Regions: pilot areas for community forestry

Recommended response: The option to curb the bureaucracy or to reduce the tax burden down
to a level where communities see no significant benefit from illegal activities could be
considered. If illegal activities are instigated by commercial, large-scale operators, targeting
these operators is more effective than focusing on communities or individuals therein.

However, it is obvious that communities may engage in illegal activities even if there are no
compelling reasons to do so. In this case, law enforcement should be strengthened and
effective sanctions should be applied. Mismanagement of funds within the community should
be addressed by obliging them to develop transparent management of community accounts.

Privately-owned Forests

Typical context: Amounts of timber extracted illegally from individual woodlots are small,
but in total the illegally extracted volume may be significant. Procedures required for legal
logging may be cumbersome. Woodlots are too small and scattered to be effectively guarded
by law enforcement staff. Forest owners themselves live far from the lots, and due to limited
economic stake have little interest in its management.

Regions: Central and Eastern Europe.

Recommended response: Regulatory framework should be simplified to a level where forest

owners find the obligations reasonable and law enforcement has the capacity to ensure
satisfactory compliance. In private woodlots illegality often results from forest owners’ failure
to follow the administrative procedures related to logging or make appropriate tax payments.
Where negative impacts are significant, a potential option is to reduce the bureaucracy
associated with harvesting and/or bring taxes down to a level where forest owners would no
more consider illegal activities an attractive option.

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3.1.3 Large-scale Commercial Illegal Logging

Typical context: High-level officials in forest administration, state forest enterprises or in

related sectors (e.g. police, judiciary, country or regional governments) abuse their authority
to enable large-scale commercial illegal logging in state forest areas, including both
production forests and protected areas. Large-scale activities may target also community and
privately owned forests. Where the structure of public administration is centralized, key
individuals involved in corrupt activities may concentrate in one or few “nodes” at the central
level; in decentralized or poorly controlled structures, the players at regional and local levels
often act independently creating a fuzzy web which is particularly difficult to control. Large-
scale illegal logging is frequently fuelled by overcapacity in domestic forest industries or by
strong export demand. Monitoring and enforcement systems are weak, focused on theft and
unable to eliminate corruption.

Regions: All countries with significant forest resources

Recommended response: In countries with the most difficult overall governance situation the
most effective responses are likely to focus on tackling high-level corruption that allows the
perpetrators to circumvent control actions undertaken at lower levels. The tools include
increasing the transparency of what is taking place in the forest sector through the provision
of independent information, strengthening civil-society participation and promoting elements
of good governance in general. The independence of monitoring should be secured by
eliminating conflicts of interest within public administration. In dire situations, engagement of
international entities providing independent monitoring services (e.g. private enterprises or
NGOs) should be considered.

Where illegal logging targets community forests, clarifying tenure arrangements and
strengthening of law enforcement are the primary measures. Secure tenure is a basic
requirement, because perpetrators may take advantage of unclear arrangements to challenge
communities’ rights to their resource. Communities may also need legal services to be able to
defend their rights through legal processes. Legal costs are usually prohibitive for the
communities and they also lack necessary skills. Where law enforcement staff and the
judiciary are tainted with corruption, backing from local advocacy groups able to raise general
awareness of irregularities is often vital for the communities.

To better contain the threat from theft in privately owned forests, private forest owners could
be encouraged and supported to organize in associations, and through these participate in
surveillance activities. In some Eastern European countries, private forest owners have shown
interest in forming patrols to detect illegal activities. Availability of low-cost legal services
may also be needed.

It is stressed that most of the other potential measures will be fully effective only if
corruption, especially at the high level, has been brought under control; otherwise there is a
risk that resources are used ineffectively and serve only for window-dressing. If powerful
interest groups are involved, any measures taken purely at the technical level can easily be
circumvented. In particular, one should be careful not to divert attention from the battle
against high-level corruption by focusing on petty corruption.

Whoever is responsible for law enforcement needs to have sufficient equipment and other
resources. However, regulation alone is seldom an adequate response; those subject to control

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activities must be obliged to provide information that can be verified with reasonable
resources. If financial and information systems are complex and opaque, the effort needed to
verify legality in a reliable manner may exceed the available resources. Centralized
administrative structures generally facilitate control of financial flows.

Where illegal logging involves high-level corruption, forest sector is usually unable to solve
the problem. In this case, co-operation with related government sectors (e.g. police, courts,
state auditors) as well as with the highest levels of government and public administration are
necessary. Where the negative impacts of illegal logging are significant, it may be justified
and acceptable to develop procedures expediting the handling of forest-related crimes by the
police force and the judiciary.

Where the capacity of wood processing industries exceeds legal supply, downsizing the
processing capacity is necessary. This is a gradual process which has to be coupled with
measures mitigating the negative effects on employment and income. Downsizing is a painful
effort which cannot be accomplished without high-level political backing. The opportunity to
provide alternative timber supplies from sustainably managed plantations should be explored
to limit the need for capacity reduction.

If illegal logging is induced by strong export demand, the most effective approaches are those
where both exporting and importing countries collaborate in eliminating illegal trade.
Potential elements of control systems include bilateral or multilateral trade agreements and
regulations, certification, or tracking systems ascertaining legality of traded products. These
should be coupled with responsible purchasing practices either by private importers or public
procurement offices. However, these systems should be designed with care to avoid creating
an excessive cost burden for legal timber and wood products which would further reduce their
competitiveness compared to illegal goods. Also, compatibility with international and
regional trade-agreements needs to be ensured.

3.1.4 Conflict Timber

Typical context: Party or parties to an armed conflict harvest and sell timber to finance the
war effort, or unscrupulous entrepreneurs utilize the situation in conflict areas to mine the
forest resources. Part of the proceeds is often diverted for the personal benefit of key
individuals. The international community has agreed to treat timber sold by warring factions
as “conflict timber” and has imposed trade restrictions, but their impact is limited because the
origin of timber is concealed and timber buyers do not require proof of it. Restrictions may
also be circumvented by passing conflict timber through third countries which are falsely
declared as their country of origin. Corruption of customs officials facilitates trade.

Regions: countries with on-going internal conflict/border dispute.

Recommended response: Most of what applies to curbing international trade of illegal logging
is relevant to conflict timber. In countries domestic consumption of timber tends to be limited
making export markets the main outlet for conflict timber. Even if a domestic market existed,
control of trade would be difficult or impossible because in times of conflict national forest
administrations are weak or paralyzed, and the prospect of violence prevents international
players from entering the scene.

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The emphasis should be placed on detection of conflict timber and barring it from entering the
international markets. Customs services play a key role. Import bans from countries subject to
conflict have proven rather effective if they can be applied to an entire country as customs
procedures are applied at national borders. However, if conflict timber originates from one
particular region within one country it may be difficult to identify it unless proof of site of
origin is required for all imported timber.

The control of conflict timber should be combined with efforts to curb international trade of
illegal timber; the volumes of conflict timber are likely not large enough to justify a launch of
an independent process.

3.2 Other Forest Crime

3.2.1 Irregular Timber Sales, Award of Concessions and Service Contracting

Typical context:, Corrupt officials receive kickbacks for arranging timber sales and
concession contracts below market prices, favouring selected customers or service providers,
condoning delayed payment of debts by enterprises purchasing timber, overpricing services
purchased from private sector etc. Timber is sold mostly through direct negotiations with the
buyers. Competitive bidding is limited and unclear and opaque sales procedure enables
irregularities. Financial control lacks resources and may be subject to undue influence from
high officials or politicians.

Regions: All countries with significant forest resources

Recommended response: The immediate response is to develop robust procedures for

competitive bidding in timber sales and increase sales through this method. The same applies
to the concession and/or logging contracts given to private companies. The system of
competitive bidding should include clearly specified criteria which is publicly available. All
delivery, concession and service contracts should be made public and interested parties should
be allowed to challenge the award of such contracts.

Financial control over public forest administration and public forest enterprises should also be
strengthened. This involves improved internal control and intensive audits by specialized and
independent agencies familiar with the forest sector. In addition, forest
administration/enterprises should be obliged to provide comprehensive information in a
manner that is easily accessible.

However, it is stressed that elimination of financial fraud is difficult relying only on

regulation. Improved oversight must usually be coupled with structural reforms in the
administration/enterprises increasing staff motivation and enhancing transparency. This may
entail introduction of higher salaries, improving and centralizing financial management
systems, etc.

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3.2.2 Evasion of Taxes, Royalties or Other Fees by Enterprises

Typical context: Enterprises fail to declare the full amount of harvested timber to evade
payment of taxes or royalties. Part or all of workers’ wages are left undeclared to avoid tax
(and social security) payments. In some cases, tax burden may be unreasonable compared to
financial gain and other sectors. Financial control lacks resources to control tax payments.

Regions: All

Recommended response: Tax evasion is often coupled with illegal logging. Law enforcement
officials in the forest sector may collaborate with tax authorities to identify enterprises that
fail to pay taxes on harvested or transported timber. However, the responsibility for detecting
undeclared wages is usually the responsibility of tax authorities. Forest authorities may
impose sanctions on enterprises that have been shown to use “black” labour.

The requirements imposed on enterprises in the forest sector should meet the acceptable
minimum but they should also be reasonable compared to other economic sectors. Requiring
full compliance in one sector may be unjust and represent inefficient use of enforcement
resources.

3.2.3 Evasion of Taxes, Royalties or Other Fees by Communities or Private Forest

Owners

Typical context: Community or private forest owners sell timber but fail to pay income tax,
royalties or other fees.

Regions: All countries with community or private ownership of forest

Recommended response: The efforts to collect taxes from community and private forest
owners should be proportionate to the expected impact. Where woodlots and amounts sold by
individual owners are small, the cost of tax collection may exceed the recovered amount. If
full compliance is aimed for, the tax burden should be adjusted to a level where most forest
owners would pay their taxes voluntarily; In this manner, enforcement could target a limited
number of forest owners failing to comply with the regulations.

3.2.4 Circumvention of Labour Laws by Enterprises

Typical context: Enterprises harvesting or transporting timber default on payment of social

security costs on their workers or regulations on minimum wages, working hours, labor
protection etc. are not followed. Authorities responsible for oversight lack resources.

Regions: All

Recommended response: Forest officials do not have authority to assess working conditions;
the responsibility for oversight is therefore mainly the responsibility of other competent
officials. However, forest authorities may impose sanctions on enterprises that have been
shown to circumvent regulations.

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The requirements imposed on enterprises in the forest sector should meet the acceptable
minimum but they should also be reasonable compared to other economic sectors. Requiring
full compliance in one sector may be unjust and represent inefficient use of enforcement
resources.

3.2.5 Unauthorized Wood Processing

Typical context: Wood processing enterprises that do not have operating license increase
overall demand for timber. This may fuel illegal logging especially in a situation where legal
supply is not adequate, and the extra demand is met by exceeding the sustainable harvesting
volume. The authorities controlling licences lack resources or they may be subject to undue
influence from high officials or politicians with links to unauthorized mills. In some cases,
bureaucracy related to obtaining a licence is overwhelming.

Regions: All countries

Recommended response: If the demand generated by unlicensed mills does not lead to supply
exceeding sustainable levels, the primary option is to explore opportunities to legalize their
status. For instance, elimination of excessive bureaucracy could often be achieved with a
reasonable effort. However, if unlicensed sawmills make demand exceed sustainable supply,
reduction of wood processing capacity becomes necessary. This is invariably a difficult task
due to the economic interests involved as well as the negative impact on employment. While
strict enforcement is an option, in most cases a more efficient strategy is to combine it with
phased programme for capacity reduction. Collaboration with other sectors is usually
necessary to mitigate the negative effects on economy and employment.

4 DEFINING CONTENTS FOR THE ACTION PLAN

Combating illegal activities in the forest sector is a multi-faceted effort. To enable a structured
analysis and formulation process, a step-wise approach consisting of four main stages is
proposed as shown in Figure 4.1.

The first two stages focus on the “big picture” to identify priority areas of action. The
subsequent two steps will define in more detail the activities to be undertaken within the
identified scope and strategies. Later on, as the analysis becomes more fine-tuned and
detailed, it is likely that iteration between stages will become necessary. However, to keep the
analysis well-focused, it is recommended that the first effort be conducted in the proposed
sequence.

Ideally, the formulation of Action Plan is a collaborative group effort. The proposed
methodology is designed to encourage stakeholder participation and interaction. Each
stakeholder can provide their view on priorities and the inputs can be displayed in tabular
form that can easily be displayed to facilitate discussion. Examples of visual presentations are
provided in ch. 4.1.

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Figure 4.1 Step-wise Approach of Four Main Stages

Definition of scope

Definition of strategies

Iteration

Identification of specific
activities

Identification of opportunities
for resource mobilization

4.1 Defining Illegal Activities to Be Targeted

Illegal acts are those which violate national laws. Illegal acts in the forest sector can be
grouped in the broad categories provided below. By and large they correspond to the
categories identified in ch. 3.

• Illegal removal of trees

• Manipulation of timber data
• Irregular timber sales and service contracting
• Evasion of taxes, royalties and other fees by forest enterprises
• Evasion of taxes, royalties and other fees by community or private forest owners
• Violation of labor laws or defaulting on social security payments by forest
enterprises
• Wood processing without authorization

As a first step, it is necessary to define which type of illegal acts will be targeted by the
Action Plan. The selection should be conducted taking into consideration the significance of
negative impacts, availability of resources to combat the problem, and the anticipated cost-
effectiveness in resource use depending on the type of illegal act. Often, full coverage is not
possible due to resource constraints; a tighter focus may also enable a more efficient use of
scant resources.

If necessary, the scope of Action Plan may be restricted further. For instance, in Bosnia-
Herzegovina it was decided that in the first phase, the Action Plan will be limit its scope to
state forests and state forest management organization; issues related to private forests were

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left for later stages owing to the limited area of private forests and their relatively modest role
in illegal activities.
The purpose of this step is to define the broad scope for future work. Detailed analysis on the
adequacy of the legal framework should be dealt with later as a separate issue.

Below is an example of table where stakeholder views are displayed to facilitate discussion
and group work.

Government Private Sector NGOs Scope agreed

by
stakeholders

Association 1

Association 2

User Group 1
User Group 2
User Group 3
Company 1

Company 2

Company 3
Agency 1
Agency 2
Agency 3
Agency 4
Agency 5

NGO 1
NGO2
Illegal removal of trees √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Timber data manipulation √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Irregular timber sales, award of
concessions & service contracting √ √ √ √ √ √
Evasion of taxes, royalties and other fees
by enterprises √ √ √
Evasion of taxes, royalties and other fees
by community or private forest owners √
Violation of labour laws √
Unauthorized wood processing √ √ √ √ √ √

4.2 Identifying Priority Strategies

Once the scope of illegal activities to be targeted has been agreed, the analysis will proceed to
identifying the key drivers and priority responses. The following broad set of response
strategies has been identified; they have been grouped based on whether their main purpose is
to prevent, detect, or suppress illegal activities.

The emphasis is on supply side measures but interventions on the demand side are also
important. Where large volumes of illegal goods are finding their way to the local or
international markets, demand side measures should be identified in collaboration with
buyers.

Prevention comprises institutional and policy reforms that seek to reduce incentives and
opportunities for illegal activities. It may also include measures aiming to reduce the gap
between timber demand and supply. Because preventive measures target the fundamental
problems underlying illegal logging, a number of them can be expected to take effect only in
the medium and long terms.

Detection refers to various methods of collecting and processing information on illegal wood
harvesting and transport with the objective of identifying illegal activities. All types of
oversight carried out by forest inspection and financial audits fall into this category; as a rule
their mandate is limited to detecting illegal acts.

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Suppression includes measures that are undertaken once illegal acts have been encountered,
revealed, and handed over to next legs of the enforcement chain. The key interventions
consist of strengthening of the police force and the judiciary.

Prevention
Measures with immediate impacts
- Improve management structure and systems in public forest administration/enterprise
(to eliminate opportunities for illegal activities and increase motivation of staff)
- Modify regulations to enable immediate increase in legal supply of timber, especially
for subsistence consumption
- Combat corruption at higher levels of public administration
- Support development of responsible business practices in forest sector (chain of
custody, certification etc.)
- Introduce demand-side measures locally and/or in importing countries to reduce
demand for illegal timber (e.g. public procurement policies)
- Lower costs of legal timber harvesting and trade
- Eliminate key shortcomings in legal framework

Measures with medium- and long-term impacts

- Reduce domestic demand for timber and/or fuelwood

- Transfer property and resource rights to state forest to non-state entities
- Invest in forest management and plantations to increase long-term supply of timber
and fuelwood
- Alleviate rural poverty
- Enhance stakeholder dialogue
- Strengthen international collaboration

Detection
- Improve monitoring of forest use, forest conversion and timber trade
- Enhance effectiveness of legal oversight
- Develop transboundary control mechanisms

Suppression
- Strengthen collaboration with police force
- Increase effectiveness of judiciary in combating forest crime

The priority strategies should be selected considering their cost-effectiveness as well as their
economic and political feasibility. It is recommended that only a limited number of priority
strategies are selected (e.g. 4-6).

The choice of strategies is a key step of the analysis, and the analysis may become more
substantive if the stakeholders are required not only to identify their priorities but also to
motivate their stance; why certain strategies are selected and why other strategies are
considered second priority. It is stressed that prioritization does not mean that other strategies
are completely neglected; selected activities related to other strategies may also be
implemented; prioritization indicates merely where the thrust of the effort should be.

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Stakeholder views can be presented in tabular form and displayed visually using the same
approach as in step 1.

4.3 Identifying Specific Activities and Defining Timeframe for Implementation

After determining priority strategies, the analysis will proceed to identifying specific, more
concrete activities under them. The list of activities presented below is indicative and non-
exhaustive; new activities can be added as needed. The potential strategies and activities have
been grouped in the same fashion as in the previous chapter 4.2. Stakeholder views can be
presented in tabular form and displayed visually using the same approach as in chapter 4.1.

It is often useful to first identify activities under ongoing efforts or plans that already have
firm commitments rather than to just focus on incremental or new activities. This helps to
provide a context for the incremental/new actions, and ensure that all stakeholders are able to
consider the action plan from a common knowledge base. Also the acknowledgement of
ongoing efforts and existing commitments helps to empower champions and keep momentum
going for these activities which may otherwise face political constraints.

Often, it is necessary to distinguish between activities requiring political decisions, and those
that can proceed with no additional political decision-making. The shift from planning to
implementation involves natural inertia and the process may slow down or even grind to a
halt. By proposing activities that need no political endorsement but can be implemented
immediately, the risk of losing momentum at this critical stage can be considerably reduced.

Prevention

Measures with immediate impacts

Improve management structure and systems in public forest administration/enterprises

- Develop and implement robust procedures securing competitive timber sales in public
forest administration/enterprise
- Improve transparency of accounting procedures and financial management systems in
public forest administration/enterprise
- Improve the financial standing of public forest administration/enterprise to allow
salary increases and financial incentives for staff
- Adjust general anti-corruption programmes to pay increased attention to forest sector

Modify regulations to immediately increase legal supply of timber, especially for subsistence
consumption
- Relax regulations to increase supply of fuelwood and timber for subsistence
consumption
- Lower import duties for timber

Combat corruption at higher levels of government and public administration

- Protect key forest officials from undue private interests and political influence (see
example in Box 4.1).
- Oblige high-level public officials and politicians to disclose their assets and income
sources.

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 - Conduct special audits on the financial flows in and out of the public forest
administration/enterprise.

Box 4.1 Insulating the Head of Forest Administration from Undue Influences in
Bolivia

In Bolivia, the decision of the head of the forest administration (Superintendente Forestal) were often
guided by political pressure from the ruling party of by private interests channelled through the
Ministers, who had great discretionary powers to remove someone from his/her position. The new
legal framework issued in 1996 dictates that the head of the forest administration be appointed by the
President of the Republic, who must choose from a shortlist of three candidates proposed by Congress.
Appointment is for six years, thus straddling the presidential five-year mandate. The head of the
administration can only be removed after an open institutional procedure, which must prove either
gross inefficiency or corruption. As a result, the first head of the forest administration to have been
appointed under the new system held the position for several years, a drastic change from the
revolving door appointments of the past. The administration was also able to attract more qualified
candidates and to give more weight to the management of staff based on professional merit. However,
the appointment of the new Superintendente Forestal was delayed because political parties were
unable to reach an agreement about who should be appointed.
Source: Contreras-Hermosilla and Vargas Rios, 2002 IN: FAO 2002

Support development of responsible business practices in forest sector

- Promote forest certification and chain of custody systems.
- Support the development and adoption of codes of corporate conduct in forest
enterprises
- Encourage incentive contracts with private companies and promote the use of
performance bonds
- Establish local-foreign partnerships in the private sector (e.g. to manage forest
concessions)

Introduce demand-side measures locally and/or in importing countries to reduce demand for
illegal timber
- Adjust domestic public procurement policies to reward legal timber
- Collaborate with governments in importing countries to adjust their public
procurement policies to provide incentives for legal timber
- Collaborate with governments in importing countries so that they ban all timber
imports without proof of legality

Reduce costs of legal timber harvesting and trade

- Simplify administrative procedures (e.g. when granting logging licences, preparing
forest management plans)

Eliminate key shortcomings in legal framework

- Amend relevant legislation to remove gaps, inconsistencies and/or excessive detail
- Adjust penalty codes to be reasonable and effective

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Measures with medium- and long-term impacts

Reduce domestic demand for timber

- Eliminate excess capacity of wood processing industries
- Enhance the supply of alternative energy sources
- Review policy regarding energy subsidies

Increase long-term supply of timber

- Expand log supply from plantations
- Enhance fuelwood supply by intensifying farm and community-level plantations
- Enhance fuelwood supply by securing natural regeneration of forest and bush land.

Transfer property and resource rights of state forest to non-state entities

- Privatize or lease state forests to private enterprises
- Transfer ownership or lease state forests to local communities

Alleviate Rural Poverty

- Enhance rural incomes and reduce population pressure

Enhance stakeholder dialogue

- Encourage involvement of civil society in forest dialogue
- Establish multi-stakeholder forums for dialogue

Strengthen international collaboration

- Sign and ratify relevant international conventions to provide backing for changes in
domestic legislation
- Intensify co-operation with international and regional processes related to governance
and illegal logging (e.g. FLEG) .
- Intensify networking with international organizations and/or NGOs

Detection

Improve monitoring of forest use and timber trade

- Enhance the use of technology in detecting crimes related to harvesting, transport,
processing and trade
- Provide more reliable estimates on the extent illegal logging
- Oblige forest managers to provide financial data in an easily verifiable form
- Improve exchange of crime-related information between government institutions
- Improve statistical systems to enable analysis of illegal timber flows

Enhance effectiveness of legal oversight

- Establish institutional arrangements separating monitoring and law enforcement from
timber production and sales
- Engage independent forest monitors (e.g. semi-public organizations,
domestic/international NGOs, private companies, see examples in Box 4.2 and Box
4.3)
- Conduct intensive financial audits on forest administrations/state forest enterprises

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 - Increase resources available for law enforcement
- Improve organization and procedures of law enforcement to use resources more
efficiently and to target most serious crimes/most vulnerable geographic areas
- Provide training to law enforcement staff
- Provide financial incentives for law enforcement staff

Develop transboundary control mechanisms

- Coordinate customs procedures and improve compatibility of technical terminology
- Coordinate or organize joint patrolling along border areas

Box 4.2 British Columbia’s Independent Forest Watchdog

The Forest Practices Board in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada, conducts audits and investigations
and issues public reports on how well industry and government are meeting the intent of B.C.’s
forest practices legislation. While it does not lay penalties, its recommendations have led directly
to improved forest practices such as stronger government decision-making processes and better
communication among forestry professionals to manage risks to the environment.
Although other jurisdictions have forest watchdog bodies, B.C. may be the only one with an arms-
length relationship from government, and a mandate to hold both government and the forest
industry publicly accountable for forestry practices. It chooses which operations to audit, and its
reports and findings are published without government revisions or comments.
By law, the board must audit government and industry forestry practices, and it must deal with
complaints from the public regarding forest practices and government enforcement. In addition, it
may appeal enforcement decisions and penalties imposed by government, seek review of
government decisions to approve plans for forestry operations, and carry out special
investigations.
The appointed board members represent a broad range of expertise and experience in forestry and
the environment from across the province. Its staff of professional foresters, biologists,
accountants and lawyers conduct the audits and investigations and report to the board, which
makes recommendations to the forest industry or government.
Source: Forest Practices Board (2005)

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Box 4.3 Typical status of an Independent Forest Monitor (according to Global
Witness, international NGO)

Global Witness has undertaken Independent Forest Monitoring (IFM) in Cambodia (1999 to 2003)
and Cameroon (2000 to date). Other examples of IFM exist in Indonesia, the Philippines, Ecuador,
and Canada. In our experience, the strengths of IFM are:
• Independence: Protocols on field missions, reporting, and publication are critically
important, and the Monitor must use considerable diplomacy and tact in implementing
these. The credibility of IFM rests on an ability to investigate politically sensitive
situations and a commitment to adhere strictly to those protocols.
• International and multi-donor funded: International organisations are less likely to be
subjected to domestic partisan pressure. Funding from multiple sources (such as through a
trust fund) increases accountability and minimises accusations of bias.
• Non-governmental, non-profit making: IFM benefits from broad civil society support.
Monitors will be proactive in seeking and reporting the facts, and facilitating reform in the
sector as a whole. The role of the Monitor should eventually be taken over by domestic
governance structures that fully involve an empowered local civil society.
• An official role: It is essential that the state acknowledges the need for and supports the
objectives of IFM; otherwise it is not possible to verify the activities of the government’s
officials nor the implementation of logging concessions.
• But not an enforcement role: At all times, however, the responsibility for law enforcement
and prosecution of offenders against forest and related legislation remains with the
appropriate state authorities.
Source: Global Witness (2006)

Suppression

Strengthen collaboration with police force

- Improve collaboration in field work between forest inspection and police force
- Streamline procedures for handing over cases from forest inspection to police force
- Prioritize cases related to forest sector in the internal procedures of the police force

Increase effectiveness of judiciary

- Focus on prosecuting key forest crime offenders
- Improve the use of non-forest legislation to prosecute forest crime offenders
- Enhance the capacity of judges and prosecutors to handle forest-related cases
- Prioritize cases related to forest sector in court procedures
- Increase capacity of forest crime investigators to put together comprehensive cases for
prosecution
- Raise awareness about the importance and significance of forests among judges and
law enforcers
- Establish tracking and monitoring system for forest-related court cases
- Establish public monitoring of the judicial process.

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4.4 Identifying Opportunities for Resource Mobilization

4.4.1 Internal Resources within the Public Administration

The need for resources varies greatly depending on the type of activity. Some key components
of Action Plans can often be implemented by re-allocating existing resources. This applies
particularly to development of policy and legal framework for which there usually is staff
available. Improving the structure of institutional framework (e.g. to ensure independence of
law enforcement and monitoring function) is often a low-cost effort.

Funding major investments depends on the financial standing of the institutions in question
and to some extent on prioritization; re-assignment of funds from other activities is always on
option. However, in practice major investments in the combat of illegal activities usually
require additional funding. The main opportunity under the Action Plans is the possibility that
improved oversight and enforcement result in higher revenue capture. In this manner, the need
for additional funds would be temporary and extra outlays would no longer be necessary once
a higher proportion of timber is sold legally resulting in higher government revenue. In some
countries, the potential to improve revenue capture is large but the case would have to be
prepared carefully before presenting it to the Ministry responsible for government budget.

4.4.2 Support from the Private Sector and Civil Society

The private sector has indicated their willingness to provide support for the combat against
illegal activities either because they foresee benefits for their own activities or simply for
ethical reasons. The private companies can make a huge input to improve monitoring of
timber flows by collecting, processing and presenting required information in a form that is
easily verifiable. In this manner, the need for monitoring resources on the government side
can be reduced dramatically. Certification and chain-of-custody systems are typical examples
of this type of systems, and several major companies are already applying them. Private sector
inputs may also be available for awareness and information campaigns.

The civil society can provide valuable support by ensuring that the political momentum for
the implementation of Action Plans is maintained. Civil society groups often wield
considerable influence among key decision-makers, and their capacity to raise awareness of
the general public can be a major input to the implementation process. In many countries,
non-governmental organizations have excellent technical capacity for monitoring and
reporting on illegal activities.

4.4.3 Transboundary resources

Eliminating crossborder traffic of illegal timber is usually of interest to governments on both

sides of the frontier. Considerable synergy in the use of available resources could be achieved
if the two customs and border guard services were able to coordinate their activities. For
instance, incompatible customs terminologies create confusion and prevent effective
crosschecking of customs declarations. Where timber is smuggled across the border,
coordinated or joint patrolling by the border guards would considerably enhance the
effectiveness of their effort.

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4.4.4 External Assistance

Types of external assistance

There are often opportunities to obtain external assistance for implementing the Action Plan.
External assistance is usually available as
- grants
- loans

Bilateral agencies usually provide their assistance in the form of grants including technical
assistance and minor investment support. International development agencies (e.g. FAO) may
also provide some technical assistance. Development banks (World Bank, Asian
Development Bank) offer loans to fund technical assistance and major investments.
International non-governmental organizations provide technical assistance, and multinational
companies may engage in public-private partnerships providing technical assistance and
funding.

There are by and large three approaches to utilizing external assistance for implanting the
Action Plan.

- Re-orienting or expanding on-going projects

- New projects focused on combat against illegal activities in the forest sector
- New projects where combat against illegal activities in the forest sector is one of the
project components

The contexts in which the various approaches may be suitable are summarized in Table 4.1.
Examples of the type of assistance that may be relevant are also given.

Table 4.1 Typical Contexts for International Assistance

Approach Suitable context Type of assistance (examples)

Re-orienting or expanding Particularly relevant for activities to TA: development of policy and legal
on-going projects be carried out in related sectors (e.g. framework, training
development of judiciary,
adjustment of energy policy); a Loan: investments in alternative energy
separate project focused on forest sources
sector is not necessarily justified but
forest sector could well be selected
among the priority sectors of a
broader project
New projects focused on Especially suitable for situations TA: development of policy and legal
combat against illegal where illegal activities are a major framework, institutional reform,
activities in forest sector problem in the forest sector, and adjustment of enforcement methods,
where most of the key remedies can training
be found within the sector Loan: equipment for law enforcement
staff, technology for monitoring,
establishment of tree plantations
New projects where combat Suited for situations where main TA: development of policy and legal
against illegal activities in drivers of illegal activities are framework; project management
the forest sector is one of outside the forest sector (e.g. rural Loan: development of infrastructure,
the project components poverty) investments in appropriate technology,
etc.

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Formulation of proposals

The proposals for international assistance can be based on the list of activities identified in the
previous stage. Support can take many shapes; it may be limited to individual activities of the
Action Plan or cover larger thematic areas.

The first step is to make an inventory of the on-going projects and programmes to see which
activities of the Action Plan could be covered under them. This is often a neglected
opportunity as administrative barriers between sectors tend to be high. However, the
established mechanism for involving stakeholders and promoting intersectoral cooperation
(see ch. 2.4) should be used to ensure that these opportunities are taken full advantage of. The
available opportunities to engage on-going projects and programmes should be briefly
described with respect to

- name of project/programme
- lead national institution
- funding agency
- overall objectives
- activities relevant to Action Plan
- account of desired adjustments in current project/programme, as relevant

The remaining activities in the Action Plan or part of them may be supported with new
projects, as necessary. Sometimes the potential donors and their preferences are known and
the proposals can be tailored accordingly. If the international community has not given any
indications, the activities in need of support should be grouped into 1-3 “clusters” briefly
described with respect to
- objectives
- main activities
- rough estimate on type of assistance needed
- lead national institution

Very detailed proposals are not necessary at this stage because the interests and requirements
of the international community vary; the details can be worked out in further negotiations in
collaboration with respective international entities.

4.5 Compiling Action Plan

There is no established standard for how an Action Plan should technically be designed and
compiled. However, based on available Action Plans and other similar documents, a few
common elements can be identified. At a minimum, the Action Plan should contain three
elements
- Brief description of the problem
- Brief account of the adopted strategies
- Detailed description of specific activities

When describing the problem, the main elements to highlight include the estimated extent of
illegal logging and other forest crime, as well as the economic, social and environmental

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consequences it may have. The description of the implementation strategy should include the
rationale behind it.

When formulating the economic justification one should not focus on revenue that was
foregone in the past but emphasize the future increase. From the government’s point of view,
the potential economic benefit is the difference between the current revenue stream and the
revenue generated under the scenario outlined in the Action Plan.

Under detailed description of activities, at least the following items may be included
- activities
- principal actor (entities from the government/private sector/civil society)
- supporting actors (entities from the government/private sector/civil society)
- timeframe for implementation
- estimated cost
- (source of external support)

Rough price tags of government expenditure requirements (perhaps in some cases associated
with some estimates of corresponding increases in fiscal revenues or other suggestion of
source(s) of financing or offsetting budget saving) may be quite an important pre-requisite to
political decisions. Obviously, not all actions will involve increased government expenditures,
but some will.

For instance, in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the entity Ministries of Finance have indicated that they
would be reluctant to make open-ended commitments to actions for which they do not have
some knowledge of the costs. The cost is usually best defined as the incremental cost i.e. as
the “extra” expenditure above the “business-as-usual” scenario. This information usually
allows the Ministry of Finance to estimate the implications on government budget.

5 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

5.1 Organization

To manage the process in the implementation phase, a coordination mechanism set up in the
formulation phase including (i) a coordinating unit, and (ii) a forum for stakeholder
participation must be maintained. However, it is often justified to downsize the coordination
unit; the shift from formulation to implementation of the Action Plan tends to bring about a
reduction in the work load for the coordinating unit.

On the other hand, if the stakeholder forum in the formulation phase was an ad hoc
arrangement, it is often advisable to replace it with a more permanent and authoritative entity.
It is important that decision-makers with sufficient authority are involved in the coordination
and monitoring activities, and that they review the achievements of the Action Plan on a
regular basis. The forum established under National Forest Program should be considered, if
relevant. Another option is to establish a High-Level Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Body.

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The responsibilities of the Coordination Unit remain essentially the same as in the
formulation phase (see ch. 0). The stakeholder forum should

- provide all relevant stakeholder groups opportunities to participate in the monitoring

and evaluation of the implementation of the Action Plan and contribute to its further
development
- set out a procedure for monitoring the implementation of Action Plan (frequency of
reviews, communication of results etc.)
- endorse progress reports provided to international bodies in compliance with
international commitments (e.g. St. Petersburg Declaration)

For its work, the stakeholder forum will depend on the monitoring system. Without sound
monitoring information it is difficult to exercise adequate oversight, and lacking a sound basis
for their work, there is a risk that stakeholders gradually lose their interest in the forum. The
development of an adequate monitoring system should therefore be a key priority in the
implementation phase.

5.2 Monitoring

In this context, monitoring is understood to cover the implementation of all activities in the
Action Plan. Monitoring legal compliance is part of them, but there are usually a number of
other measures (e.g. making planned investments, formulating legal amendments etc.) whose
implementation should also be monitored.

5.2.1 Structure of Indicator Set

The key element of a monitoring system is the indicator set. Ideally, the indicators would be
derived directly from the Action Plan but this may not be possible because the Action Plan is
often a broad document providing the main lines of action but being scant with detail. In this
case, the indicator set has to be developed expanding on the indications given in the Action
Plan. The set should include

- input indicators (e.g. use of human resources and investment funds for combating
illegal activities).
- process indicators (e.g. participation of stakeholders, preparation of policies & plans in
a timely manner), and
- impact indicators (e.g. level of illegal activities, change in government revenue, state
of environment, employment)

The various indicators should be assigned target values as well as a timeframe by which the
target should be reached.

Ultimately, the success of the Action Plan will be measured using impact indicators. Process
and input indicators are applied to assess whether the means chosen to achieve the ultimate
aims are implemented in a timely and appropriate manner. Process and input indicators are
nevertheless necessary because a detectable change in impacts may be observed only after a
relatively long period of implementation. If monitoring were based solely on impact
indicators, there could be a substantial delay in providing feedback to policy-makers and

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stakeholders; input and process indicators enable quick reporting on how implementation is
progressing.

5.2.2 Technical Arrangements

When developing the monitoring system it is necessary to ensure that it is both technically
sound as well as trusted by the stakeholders. If the stakeholders do not perceive monitoring
information as relevant and reliable, the credibility of the entire system is undermined.
Distrust cannot be compensated with technical or technological excellence.

Accordingly, the first draft of the indicator set is best prepared by technical experts but the
draft should be reviewed and endorsed by the stakeholder forum. If there are national
monitoring frameworks (e.g. national criteria and indicators for sustainable forest
management), it is necessary to ensure that the indicator set for the Action Plan is integrated
with them. Transparency of information is another key issue; all results should be documented
and be verifiable afterwards. To this effect, stakeholders should be provided free access to all
monitoring information, not only summarized results but also the basic data.

The overall monitoring the Action Plan should be assigned to the Coordination Unit. With
respect to monitoring legal compliance, the most common arrangement is a government
institution responsible for forest law enforcement. Its independence should be secured with
appropriate institutional arrangements where the entity is not administratively or financially
dependent on the entities or individuals whose activities are being monitored.

Private companies or non-governmental organizations with sufficient technical competence

could also be engaged to conduct selected monitoring of legal compliance. In some cases, the
trust of stakeholders can be achieved only by involving independent international parties to
assist in monitoring activities. Another option is partnership arrangements between public and
private sectors and/or civil society. Apart from often being effective approaches, they are
amenable to build trust between the various stakeholder groups (see Box 5.1).

From a technical point of view, it is of utmost importance to establish baselines for

monitoring data. Sometimes this is not a major problem, especially if monitoring is based on
an analysis of routinely collected data. However, even in this case it is necessary to ensure
that routine data is archived appropriately to enable comparisons over time. Routine data must
also be specific enough and focused on issues that are important for the Action Plan. On the
other hand, quite often the nature of illegal activities is such that monitoring data has to be
collected through specific studies. Unless these are carried out early on, there is risk that
appropriate comparisons over time cannot be made.

The entity charged with monitoring has to establish a mechanism to coordinate data collection
and collate data. Monitoring data usually comes from several sources, and due to different
reporting systems the data may not always be compatible. The various entities involved in
monitoring need to have clear and detailed directions as to the frequency of reporting and the
type of information they are expected to generate.

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Box 5.1 Successful Partnership in Ecuador to Promote Forest Law Enforcement

Vigilancia Verde (Green Surveillance) was created in Ecuador in 2000 by a coalition involving the
National Police, the National Defence Ministry, the Ministry of Environment and five NGOs.
Vigilancia Verde is a supervising body responsible for controlling the transport of timber between the
forest and processing and marketing locations. Thirteen fixed road checkpoints and seven mobile
control points are being established, each one of them formed by a representative from the forest
authority, one from civil society and two from the police. These teams operate on a 24-hour basis and
their members are periodically reassigned to other control points. The system is funded by a trust that
receives 50 percent of the sale value of the timber that is detected, confiscated and auctioned. The
funds are administered by a bank and managed by three directors from civil society and two from
government agencies. All of these features have been designed to avoid unaccountable practices, and
to reduce the temptation of corrupt deals. This scheme has already demonstrated its effectiveness. In
its first year, the volume of timber seized was nearly 600 percent more than that seized by the
government during the previous year.
Source: Contreras-Hermosilla and Vargas Rios 2002, The Economist 2003 IN: FAO 2005.

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FAO. 2005. Best Practices for Improving Law Compliance in the Forest Sector. FAO Forestry
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