ETFRN NEWS 52: Chainsaw milling: supplier to local markets

18 apr 2011

International agreements regarding timber and carbon trading, such as the European Union’s Action Plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), will have an impact on local timber production and vice versa. To date, little was known about the extent of local timber trade in tropical timber producing countries, but information from this ETFRN News shows that local timber production is significant, with profound impacts on forest resources and local livelihoods. This emphasizes the need to address the informal and local timber sector adequately within these agreements, in order for them to meaningfully contribute to more sustainable forest management and equitable socioeconomic development.