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EU, DRC negotiate for FLEGT agreement

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Europe an Union have signed an agreement to open negotiations towards the conclusion,of an agreement on the fight against illegal wood exports, called FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement Government and Trade Agreement). The agreement, which is about a voluntary partnership agreement (APV), whose obj ective is to work out a system of traceability and control of legality, gives Eu r opean consumers the guarantee that the wood they buy comes from ‘legal, respectf u l sources of environmental, social and tax regulations’. The agreement, signed in Brussels, aims at giving DRC a system to control the fi ght against illegal deforestation and degradation, which contribute to climate c h ange. Sources said DRC covers 60 per cent of the forests in the Congo Basin, which, th rough its area, is the second region of the world’s dense and humid forests, aft e r that of Amazon in Latin America.
Negotiations will particularly focus on the reform of the Congolese forest secto r, with the adoption of a new forest code, the establishment of a new legislativ e framework and the creation of a position of independent observer for forest act i vities.A statement from the European Commission services made available to PANA said 80 per cent, or between 100,000 and 200,000 cubic metres per year, of the wood fro m DRC is exported to Europe.The European Union already signed FLEGT contracts with Congo Brazzaville, Camero on and Ghana and negotiations are going on to conclude the same agreements with G abon, Liberia and the Central African Republic.

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