2014-10-29
Between the 8th and 12th of September, three servants of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) participated in a mission to Europe to visit government institutions, companies and organizations involved in the processes of regulation and inspection of imported timber forest products. They learned about experiences in France (Paris) and the Netherlands (Almere, Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague) and also went to Belgium (Brussels), on a visit to the Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Union (DG ENV).
The mission was funded by the EU-Brazil Sector Dialogues Support Facility, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Planning, Budget and Management (MPOG) and the European Union Delegation in Brazil (Delbra). The action was selected by the seventh call of the project, within the Environmental Dimension of Sustainable Development sectoral dialogue
The head of the international advisory board of the SFB, Daniel Meireles Tristão, participated in the mission and states the main objective was to learn about European regulations for the trade of timber, the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). According to Tristão, the group was able to learn about the institutions involved in the process: governments, the private sector and the civil society. "It was also a great opportunity to publicize and promote the policy of forest concessions in Brazil," he says.
In all the three countries, the technical staff of the SFB visited the supervisory authority of the EUTR. In Paris, the Sous-direction de la Forêt et du Bois du Service de la Forêt de la Ruralité et du Cheval (SFRC); In Utrecht, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nvwa) and in Brussels, the headquarters of the EU, the DG ENV.
Meetings with representatives of associations of timber importers were held. In Paris, the technical team of the SFB met with Le Commerce du Bois and the Association Technique Internationale des Bois Tropicaux (ATIB), and in Almere, with the Netherlands Timber Trade Association. The team also learned about NGOs experiences in the environment and forestry sector. In Paris, they visited The Forest Trust - Timber Trade Action Plan (TTAP); in Amsterdam, they visited Greenpeace. In The Hague, the group visited Dekker Hout Den Haag BV, an importer of Brazilian native wood products.
In addition to presenting the Brazilian experience in forest concessions and sustainable management of forests and learning about the EU practices and regulations in this area, the mission also aimed to foster the creation of a network of institutions related to wood and forest products between Brazil and the EU.
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