Identification and formulation of a regional FLEGT support Programme

The EU is one of the largest importers of timber in the world and is a significant importer of timber from the ASEAN region, directly or indirectly via other trading partners in Asia where primary timber is processed before being (re)exported to the EU. The Asian region, with 15% of the world’s forest, hosts more than half of the world population. Exponential population growth in the region is expected to continue exerting increasing pressure on forest resources in the near future. The EU and other international markets are increasingly concerned about the loss of forests, especially those from the tropics. Political interest in forest governance issues has progressively increased over the past decade and set in motion a growing trend that aims to employ the purchase power of markets as a complementing motivator to preserve forests.

The EU FLEGT Action Plan was launched by the EU in 2003 with the aim to globally tackle illegal logging and its associated trade. The Plan proposes a set of strategies for action. Among these is the development of bilateral Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) between the EU and partner countries. These are legally binding treaties designed to eliminate illegally produced timber from a partner country's international trade with the EU. VPAs are also designed to prevent the movement of illegal timber to the EU via intermediary countries, either in transit or through secondary processing. Obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the EU market are in place since March 2013 (EU Timber Regulation). Operators are requested to exercise due diligence, which is regularly checked by EU member states competent authorities.

All five FLEGT VPA countries in Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand) and three FLEGT-interested countries (Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines), are ASEAN Member States (AMS). Exchange among stakeholder groups of these countries on FLEGT increasingly occurs either bilaterally or regionally under ASEAN and other regional structures. Timber is one of the identified priority integration areas under the ASEAN economic community. Within ASEAN, there have been several initiatives to address illegal logging and its associated trade. Nonetheless the momentum decidedly increased through bi-lateral actions between ASEAN Member States and the EU under the EU’s FLEGT Action Plan. In November 2016 Indonesia became the first country in the world to have a fully activated VPA and to issue the world's first FLEGT licenses for timber products shipments to Europe.

Building on the achievements in Indonesia and cooperation under the EU-China Bilateral Coordination Mechanism (BCM) on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG), the EU Delegation to Indonesia is planning to implement a new regional FLEGT programme which is expected to capitalise on Indonesia's success, foster complementarity of the regional aspects of BCM work with activities in VPA countries in ASEAN, and scale up, replicate wherever possible, and harmonise FLEGT-related efforts in ASEAN+3 (People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Republic of Korea (Korea) and Japan.

Development of a regional support programme, enhancing and consolidating regional cooperation on sustainable trade of legal wood and advancing the FLEGT agenda in VPA and non-VPA countries in the Asian region (Indicative amount EUR 5.5 million).

The assignment is intended to provide the EU with a planning framework for the programming of a regional support programme on FLEGT. An Identification Document (ID) and an Action Document (AD) will be developed in close consultation and in close integration with the regional work on FLEGT conducted by the EU FLEGT Facility hosted by the European Forest Institute (EFI). The ASEAN 2016-2025 Workplan on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) will provide a general guiding framework for the development of the AD. Synergies with key initiatives on FLEGT/REDD+ with a regional outreach like the EU-funded FAO FLEGT, UN-REDD programmes and the Lima-Paris Action Agenda on Zero Deforestation Commitments from Commodity Producers and Traders' will need to be assured.

The regional programme envisaged should ideally be tailored around two components :

• A (smaller) ASEAN/ASEAN+3 regional component
• A (larger) national-level support component with clear focus on LDC countries

ToR on demand

Education at least Master's Degree in environmental economics, management or related discipline or, in its absence, equivalent professional experience above General professional experience requirements. PhD Degree is an asset.

General Professional Experience :

• At least 12 years of experience in the sector related to the Lot 6 of FWC BENEF 2013

Specific professional experience :

• At least 5 years of experience with governance, legislation and policy development in relation to forest management.
• Experience with projects and initiatives relating to FLEGT processes in ASEAN countries.
• Solid understanding of ASEAN regional cooperation on FLEGT
• Familiarity with FLEGT-REDD+ issues in at least one VPA ASEAN country. Similar experience in more than one ASEAN country will be considered an advantage
• Previous exposure in the context of VPA negotiations and/or implementation will be considered a definite advantage
• Strong established private sector networking in the area of timber production and timber trading in ASEAN countries.
• Good understanding of EU-ASEAN relations and EU development cooperation methods and procedures.
• Familiarity with the work of the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN institutional structures

ToR on demand

Education at least Master's Degree in forestry, environmental sciences or related discipline or, in its absence, equivalent professional experience above General professional experience requirements.

General professional experience :

• At least 6 years of experience in the sector related to the Lot 6 of FWC BENEF 2013

Specific professional experience :

• At least 5 years of experience in forest management and Chain-of-Custody certification or wood tracking methodologies. Knowledge of the EU Timber Regulation
• Demonstrated experience with FLEGT processes in ASEAN (Experience in Asia-Pacific will be considered an advantage)
• Experience in working with international organisations dealing with forest management either at donor or country level, with demonstrated track record of results on the ground
• Experience in multi-stakeholder consultation and decision making processes
• Solid understanding and/or demonstrated knowledge of the REDD+ mechanism
• Good understanding of EU-ASEAN relations and EU development cooperation methods and procedures
• Knowledge of language of at least one ASEAN country would be considered an advantage
• Experience with high-level report writing
• Strong presentation, organizational and communication skills