Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 41
41
Accepted in Part
Paragraph: 150
Share government review report widely and thoroughly incorporate lessons into future UK programmes
Recommendation
We recommend that the report of the Government review should be shared widely, including with the relevant EU authorities and Member States preparing for the successor programme to FLEGT-VPA. Lessons learned should be incorporated thoroughly into future UK programmes so as to address most effectively all deforestation activities driven by production of forest risk commodities. Where appropriate the review’s findings should take a country-based approach, analysing the country-specific factors which have contributed to particular outcomes.
Government Response Summary
The government confirms the FLEGT Post Implementation Review (PIR) will be published shortly and made widely accessible, and that it reflects country-specific factors. It commits to sharing the review internally and conducting further analysis of lessons learned, but does not explicitly commit to sharing with EU authorities.
Paragraph Reference:
150
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The FLEGT Post Implementation Review (PIR) reflects on the experience of several VPA countries, with a particular focus on Indonesia, Ghana, Liberia and Guyana, including analysis of stakeholder views highlighting country-specific factors. The PIR provides clear conclusions on the effectiveness of FLEGT licensing and Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA), and recommendations for future work in this area. The PIR will be published shortly on gov.uk and will be widely accessible. Once published, the review will be shared with relevant teams in Defra and across Government. Further analysis of the lessons learned for policy makers will be conducted and disseminated in due course. For clarity, the EU has reaffirmed their commitment to VPA partnerships, which will continue to operate alongside their EU Deforestation Regulation, with FLEGT licensing being an accepted EU standard of legality.