APEC Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (EGILAT)
The APEC Experts Group on Illegal Logging and Associated Trade (EGILAT) was established in 2011 under the direction of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade. EGILAT's mandate is to promote sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region by enhancing the efforts of member economies to combat illegal logging and promote trade in legally harvested forest products and support related capacity building activities.
EGILAT had its first Multi-Year Strategic Plan for 2013-2017. This was followed by the second Multi-Year Strategic Plan 2018-2022 to guide its work in the next five year period.
EGILAT meetings are held twice a year during the margins of the APEC's Senior Officials Meeting.
Milestone Documents. These were produced during the APEC meeting in the Philippines in 2015, to wit:
- APEC EGILAT Timber Legality Guidance template This intends to provide clarity and transparency for businesses, government and civil groups on what constitutes legal and illegally logged timber within individual APEC economies.
- APEC Common Understanding on the Scope of Illegal Logging and Associated Trade This document is non-binding and provides a general understanding of the scope of illegal logging and associated trade in the APEC economies. It recognizes that in practice, some economies' laws or regulations regarding illegal logging may differ.
EGILAT had its first Multi-Year Strategic Plan for 2013-2017. This was followed by the second Multi-Year Strategic Plan 2018-2022 to guide its work in the next five year period.
EGILAT meetings are held twice a year during the margins of the APEC's Senior Officials Meeting.
Milestone Documents. These were produced during the APEC meeting in the Philippines in 2015, to wit:
- APEC EGILAT Timber Legality Guidance template This intends to provide clarity and transparency for businesses, government and civil groups on what constitutes legal and illegally logged timber within individual APEC economies.
- APEC Common Understanding on the Scope of Illegal Logging and Associated Trade This document is non-binding and provides a general understanding of the scope of illegal logging and associated trade in the APEC economies. It recognizes that in practice, some economies' laws or regulations regarding illegal logging may differ.
- Focal Office:
- Forest Management Bureau (FMB)
- Date Launched:
- 2011
- Focal Persons:
- Technical Representative
FOR. NONITO M. TAMAYO
Director, DENR-FMB
Tel. No. (632) 927 4788
Alternate
FOR. RAUL M. BRIz
Chief, Forest Protection Section, Forest Resources Conservation Division
DENR-FMB
Tel. No. (632) 927 4788 - Commitments:
- The Philippines, along with other Member Economies, participates in the fulfillment of the Terms of Reference of the EGILAT such as the following:
1. Strengthen policy dialogue among APEC economies on combating illegal logging and associated trade and promoting trade in legally harvested forest products;
2. Share information on policies and laws of APEC economies to combat illegal logging and associated trade in legally harvested forest products;
3. Provide member economies with opportunities to exchange views, experiences, and analyses on relevant matters, including (i) development in laws, regulations, and other measures relating to combating illegal logging and associated trade, (ii) new technologies designed to assist efforts to combat illegal logging and associated trade and promote trade in legally harvested forest products, and (iii) data and other information on production,
processing exports, imports, and consumption of forest products, to the extent available;
4. Facilitate law enforcement cooperation and information sharing to combat illegal logging and associated trade, consistent with domestic law and in accordance with applicable international agreements;
5. Collaborate with international and regional forestry organizations, in pursuing APEC's commitment to sustainable forest management and rehabilitation;
6. Collaborate with other APEC fora (i.e., Anti-Corruption Transparency Working Group, Sub-Committee Customs Procedures, Pathfinders Dialogue, etc.), forest industry and civil society organizations to raise awareness and contribute to national and regional efforts to combat illegal logging and associated trade and promote trade in legally harvested forest products. - Sources / Relevant Links:
- http://www.apec.org/Groups/SOM-Steering-Committee-on-Economic-and-Technical-Cooperation/Working-Groups/Illegal-Logging-and-Associated-Trade.aspx
- Status:
-
Updates
Based on regional reports, there were 22 hotspot municipalities with incidents of illegal logging across the country. This decreased to 16 in 2018. A total of 316 cases were filed in 2018 while there were 95 convictions.
During the EGILAT's tenth meeting in August 2016, the Philippines supported the creation of a list of law enforcement points of contact on illegal logging issues in cooperation with the Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) and Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group (ACTWG) for initial communications.
At the twelfth meeting of EGILAT in August 2017, the country presented its efforts in combating illegal logging entitled "Lawin Forest & Biodiversity Protection System." A total of 1,175 forest protection officers were hired in 2018.
In the thirteenth meeting of EGILAT in February 2018, an EGILAT Core Group was created consisting of Australia, Canada, Chile, China, PNG, Peru, Philippines and the USA to discuss and contribute inputs to pre-agreed contemporary topics inter-sessionally. The group endorsed the EGILAT Multi-Year Strategic Plan 2018-2022 to the APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM3).
This Page was updated on 16 December 2019 and will be updated on 10 December 2020
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