Enhancing civil society’s capacity to engage in the FLEGT/VPA process strengthened

From 16 to 17 July, as the coordinator of the Vietnamese Non-Governmental Organisations Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Network (VNGO-FLEGT), SRD hosted a two-day workshop in partnership with FERN on "Strengthening the capacity of civil society on the VPA/FLEGT process". The workshop, which was funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID), attracted more than 50 participants and experts, including representatives from the Vietnamese Forest Administration (VNForest), the EU Delegation to Vietnam, FAO, the European Forest Institute and national and international NGOs and CSOs based in Vietnam.Through a series of presentations and discussions with experts, participants learnt about the current forest situation in Vietnam, voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs), which are designed to promote good forest governance, the legal timber industry whilst combating illegal timber logging and trade, the VPA/FLEGT negotiation process between the Government of Vietnam and the European Union and overseas experiences.  The roles for communities and civil society in forest management and the VPA/FLEGT process were also explored, as were potential funding options for undertaking activities which help to ensure that the process does not negatively impact forest dependent communities.

The first training of the project got attraction of quite a few representatives from both international and local NGOs

Participants then discussed the structure and plan for the VNGO-FLEGT Network and its nationwide membership andhow they would engage with local communities to empower them to advocate for their own rights and needs and a short term action plan for network strengthening and some kick off activities were agreed. One of the most important activities in the short-term action plan is the community consultation process planned for September and October. The Network will develop a community consultation manual prior to consulting with local community-based organisations and forest dependent communities to evaluate the impacts of FLEGT.

The commitment of Vietnamese civil society to participate in the FLEGT/VPA process to ensure the rights of local forest dependent communities was demonstrated by the high level of attendance and participation in the workshop. The Network is open to all Vietnamese civil society and welcomes international NGOs as observers. Participants were encouraged to join/share information about the network and to actively get involved.

Additional information about the FLEGT/VPA process in Vietnam and international experiences can be found via the logging.off website (http://loggingoff.info/) or the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Forest Sector Support Partnership website (http://www.vietnamforestry.org.vn/).

For further information on joining the network, please contact SRD or the VNGO-FLEGT Coordinator; Pham Thi Bich Ngoc (phone: 04 3943 6678 or email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).  

Note: FLEGT is the EU's response to tackle the problem of illegal logging by both promoting the legal timber industry and removing demand for illegal timber products. From March 2013, all timber products imported and traded in the EU will at a minimum be subject to due diligence to show that the timber was sustainably harvested. As a major exporter of timber products (often sourced from other countries within the region) to environmentally conscious markets such as the EU, the US and Japan, Vietnam entered into VPA negotiations with the EU in 2010. As part of the process the EU provides financial and technical support and advice to timber producing countries to help them to tack illegal logging. Civil society can influence this process to make sure that it is transparent and meets the needs of forest dependent communities.

To download the workshop's presentations, click here

-SRD-