Elsewhere on DAFF
Background
Background on illegal logging
Illegal logging is a significant global issue. It degrades forest environments, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, reduces biodiversity, results in a loss of government revenue and deprives local communities of ownership rights and opportunities to improve their quality of life.
Building on the past to pave the way for the future
A commitment to prohibit the importation of illegally harvested timber was first presented publically during the 2007 and 2010 election campaigns. Following the 2007 election, the government commissioned substantial research to inform policy development.
On 9 December 2010, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced the framework to implement the policy that built on the above commitments.
Illegal logging: A Global Problem
The Organisation for Economic Co–operation and Development (OECD) estimates that 5 to 10 per cent of global industrial round wood trade is illegally harvested. In some high risk countries illegally logged timber accounts for between 20 and 70 per cent1 of timber production. This translates to a loss of assets and revenue in developing countries of up to US$23 billion every year. The World Bank estimates that illegal logging costs the global market more than US$10 billion a year and reduces government revenues by about $US5 billion a year.
It is estimated that each year around $400 million of Australia’s forest products imports (totalling around $4 billion in 2008) were derived from sources with some risk of being illegally logged — 
PDF [170KB].
It is therefore in Australia’s interests as a responsible member of the global community to protect plants and animals and the environment, promote sustainable forest management and reduce the depletion of exhaustible natural resources that are threatened by illegal logging.
Reports supporting the Illegal Logging policy
A number of reports were commissioned by the government to support its policy decision to restrict the import of illegally logged timber.
1) A risk assessment framework for assessing the legality of timber and wood products imported into Australia
This project examined methods to estimate the value of illegally harvested timber being imported. The report proposes a risk assessment model whereby systems of forestry governance in timber producing countries are evaluated and linked to corruption indices.
Poyry Report — Risk assessment framework for assessing legality of timber and wood products imported into Australia
Word [1.1MB]
2) A framework for differentiating legality verification and chain of custody schemes
This report provides guidance to industry on how they can differentiate between the available systems of legality verification based on the scheme requirements, governance processes and independence of compliance auditing procedures.
URS — A framework for differentiating legality verification and chain of custody schemes PDF [474KB]
URS — A framework for differentiating legality verification and chain of custody schemes Word [1.4MB]
3) A generic code of conduct to support procurement of legally logged wood–based forest products
The code describes a due diligence framework for industry. It provides guidance on completing risk assessment of the legality of the legal origins of timber products and the selection of suitable systems and schemes for verifying the legal origins of timber products that can effectively address the identified risks.
TDA — A generic code of conduct to support procurement of legally logged wood–based forest products — Final Report Word [1.9MB]
TDA — A generic code of conduct to support procurement of legally logged wood–based forest products — Draft PDF [700KB]
TDA — A generic code of conduct to support procurement of legally logged wood–based forest products — Draft Word [191KB]
4) A final Regulation Impact Statement
The final Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) assesses the potential costs and benefits for domestic business, individuals and the Australian economy of regulatory options designed to restrict the importation of illegally logged timber into Australia. It also identifies a preferred option.
Final regulation impact statement PDF [599KB]
Final regulation impact statement Word [683KB]
5) The Economic consequences of restricting the import of illegally logged timber
Developed by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, this report uses a series of scenarios to examine the potential economic consequences of Australia restricting imports of illegally logged timber and timber products. The report builds on the work completed in the draft RIS and final report to inform the RIS.
The economic consequences of restricting the import of illegally logged timber PDF [477KB]
The economic consequences of restricting the import of illegally logged timber Word [477KB]
6) Small Business Impact Statement
The Small Business Impact Statement categorises the structure and nature of small businesses operating within the Australian forest products industry. It identifies the categories and number of businesses that may be affected by the policy and possible impacts on these businesses. The report notes limitations in identifying the number of businesses affected by a policy intervention.
Cailum — Small Business Impact Statement PDF [599KB]
Cailum — Small Business Impact Statement Word [617KB]
7) A review of the social costs of illegal logging
This report focuses on the impacts which illegal logging has on forest dependent communities in producer countries. It identifies and describes some of the social costs of illegal logging in producer countries, indicating that forest dependent communities are often more vulnerable to impacts given their typically lower socio–economic status relative to urban communities.
Coakes — A review of the social costs of illegal logging PDF [599KB]
Coakes — A review of the social costs of illegal logging Word [683KB]
Development work to inform the Regulation Impact Statement
The Centre for International Economics (The CIE) was commissioned to prepare the following reports which were used to inform the final Regulation Impact Statement upon which the government’s final policy was based. These included:
- an issues paper was released in April 2009 to facilitate discussion on the range of issues to be considered in developing policy options to combat illegal logging and associated trade.
- a draft report on the range of viable regulatory and non–regulatory options and associated benefit: cost analyses for restricting imports of illegally sourced timber together with the disclosure at point of sale of species, country of harvest and any certification. The draft report, along with public submissions, is available on the CIE web site.
- a final report that includes amendments to the draft report based on stakeholder comments, describes viable options for implementing the government’s illegal logging election commitment, a cost—benefit analysis of those options and a recommended policy option.
Final Report to inform a Regulation Impact Statement for the proposed new policy on illegally logged timber PDF [887KB]
Final Report to inform a Regulation Impact Statement for the proposed new policy on illegally logged timber Word [803KB]
References
1. World Bank, 2002, Forest Concession Policies and Revenue Systems, World Bank Technical Paper No. 522 (prepared by John A Grey), Washington DC.
More information
23 Nov 2011