Outputs:  

1. Workshops 1 and 2: Two workshops  will demonstrate and explore various approaches to timber legality, as well as the utility of data, tools, and technologies for timber legality. These workshops will include focused engagements with industry and private sector stakeholders to evaluate how these approaches work from a practitioner’s perspective.  Experts from across industry will be invited as guest speakers.   

Participating APEC economies will raise awareness of each workshop with their interested stakeholders.  In addition to member economy delegations, the target audiences for these workshops includes industry/private sector stakeholders, government and policy makers, relevant civil society, and select international organizations chosen for their engagement and expertise in the forest products sector.  Member economies in connection with workshop organizers and the EGILAT will determine which stakeholders would be most appropriate to attend each workshop. Participating EGILAT economies will be encouraged to recommend stakeholders consider sending at least one representative who has the appropriate skillset to participate in both workshops to provide continuity. 

A) Workshop 1: Stocktaking for Navigating Legal Timber (virtual, intercessional): A two-day, virtual workshop (three to four hours/day, including one 20-minute break). 

Workshop 1 will take place virtually and serve as a stocktaking exercise for navigating legal timber.  This will outline approaches (including timber legality frameworks, measures and other requirements) APEC member economies utilize to promote timber legality.  

The 21 APEC member economies will be invited to participate in the stocktaking exercise, with the target goal of at least 16 participating economies.   With contractor support, preparation for the stocktaking workshop will include desk research supplemented by a direct survey of the participating economies and relevant stakeholders in the forest products sector. Survey questions will be geared toward obtaining specific information about small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) and micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the forest products sector.  The issues relevant to the survey research and information collection survey may include: 1) the exiting legality frameworks, measures and policies implemented by the participating economies; and 2) technology and data resources available and in use by the participating economies. 

During the workshop, participants will review, discuss, and expand on the survey results to complete the stocktaking exercise.  In addition to taking stock of forest legality approaches in the APEC region, participants will discuss private sector adoption of legality practices, challenges and lessons learned from legality framework implementation, and the role of EGILAT as it relates to timber legality frameworks.  This stocktaking exercise will foster a greater understanding of the various domestic legal regulatory measures, requirements and frameworks relevant to legal timber trade that govern the harvest, processing, and trade of legal timber and enforcement of illegal logging and trade-related crimes.  It will also promote a greater understanding how industry engages with these requirements. 

It is anticipated that at least five speakers will be invited to make presentations.  The presentations will be supplemented by breakout group discussions and/or facilitated discussion sessions with the goal of obtaining additional information to inform how EGILAT can better support advancing the legal timber trade and combat illegal logging.  In addition, time will be allocated to discuss improvements to the EGILAT Compendium and to discuss: 1) long term maintenance, including future updates and 2) methods for increasing its use. 

B) Workshop 2: Capacity-Building Workshop on Tools and Technology for Timber Legality (in-person): A two-day, in person workshop on the margins of SOM3 (eight hours/day, including a 1-hour lunch break and two 20-minute coffee/networking breaks), focusing on data and technology, with a focus on capacity-building via presentations and facilitated discussions. 

Workshop 2 will take place on the margins of SOM3 2023.  The workshop will feature four to six expert-led capacity building sessions on available data and technology tools that support the assessment of supply chain risks for legal timber trade.  These tools may include data repositories currently in use by APEC economies, industry, and non-governmental organizations; big data analysis; geographic information systems for forest monitoring; wood identification technologies for traceability; accountability approaches; and investigative techniques.  Expert training sessions  will reference case studies regarding the use of these technologies across the APEC region.  Structured stakeholder discussions will follow the capacity building sessions and will address: 1) the ability of domestic regulatory agencies to collect and share timber legality information and data; and 2) industry challenges to access and implement new technology. Workshop will also serve as a match-making platform for member economy stakeholders and tech companies.  

 2. Improved EGILAT Compendium (v. 2.0): Updates to the existing EGILAT compendium will be made based on findings from the workshops, stocktaking survey and associated research.  In addition, we will ensure that the updated compendium is easily accessible online, is searchable, and evaluate options for translation and further distribution.  The structure will follow the current structure, with six sections and an appendix, and we anticipate that the new material will add roughly 10 pages to the current 46-page compendium. The primary focus of the improvements will be on accessibility. 

3. Final Summary Report: learnings, recommendations, etc. This final summary report will cover all aspects of the project – the frameworks stocktaking exercise, improved compendium, and workshops. It will provide a summary and overview of what knowledge that has been gained and provide suggestions for future work that may be needed to help achieve project goals. 

The final summary report will describe outcomes and lessons learned from the project workstream, including the workshops and associated stocktaking exerciseThe Final Summary Report will be no more than 60 pages in length.  The proposed outline of the Final Summary Report, which may change based upon the information learned from the workshops and contractor survey, is as follows:

1. Table of Contents

2. Executive Summary

3. Introduction

4. Stocktaking Exercise – Methods and Survey

5. Workshop 1 Overview – Stocktaking for Navigating Legal Timber

6. Workshop 2 Overview – Capacity Building for Tools and Technology

7. Results

8. Recommendations

9. Conclusions

10. Annex - Improved Compendium – Summary of Modifications  

Outcomes: The overall aim of this project is to facilitate the legal timber trade in the APEC region, at the individual economy level as well across the APEC region, through improved knowledge and application of existing resources, tools, and best practices to conduct business within legal timber supply chains. The project proposes to explore resources to enhance understanding, identify gaps, and improve access and application for practical use, consistent with each economy’s laws, regulations, and legal data protection regime.

Specific outcomes include:  

a) Improved understanding of relevant legal regulatory frameworks and tools and technology to support timber legality by private sector participants and APEC economies through a stock-taking of forest legality approaches in the APEC region and discussions about private sector adoption of legality practices, challenges and lessons learned from legality framework implementation and discussions and presentations of key technologies and tools.

b) Increased capacity of private sector entities to  conduct business within legal timber supply chains, including through improved understanding of relevant legal regulatory frameworks and knowledge of extant resources and tools available to do so which may support, among other practical benefits and on a voluntary basis, improved ability to assess supply chain risk and conduct due diligence.  

c)  Increased capacity of APEC economy governments to take steps to facilitate/enable legal timber trade, which may include: adoption of best practices and implementation of policies or processes, as appropriate, which enable economy private sector entities to ensure legality in timber supply chains and trade in legal timber. These outcomes will be facilitated by the activities and deliverables proposed in this project – from the stocktaking exercise on legality frameworks, to the improved compendium, to the in-person and virtual workshops that aim to unite governments, NGOs, and the private sector. 

Beneficiaries: Participants will include key stakeholders from across the forest products sector, governments and policy makers, and relevant civil society, as well as international organizations, who will be selected for their engagement in the sector and relevance/expertise. Benefits from these discussions and deliverables will accrue to all APEC economies, as concrete opportunities and resources are identified to facilitate legal trade. 

Both the frameworks exercise and in-person dialogues will specifically seek to engage governments, NGOs and the private sector, targeting those most qualified to engage in a dialogue about challenges and potential solutions to ensuring legal timber trade as well as those well placed to foster adoption of best practices/findings generated from this project. 

EGILAT member economies include a variety of skillsets and levels of management in their delegations who attend the business meetings and stakeholder workshops. These delegations can include attorneys/prosecutors, law enforcement, policy makers, and technical experts. The delegation members also range from staff subject matter experts to senior management (e.g., director level). Any government official who is not a member of an APEC economy in attendance is also expected to fall into one of these categories and have a similar range of management level. 

Secondary beneficiaries will include relevant NGOs and international organizations, who will be able to use and contribute to resources, tools, and other project outputs, through a better understand of the similarities and differences among economies. These agencies and individuals will play a critical role in supporting both the private sector and economies in facilitating legal timber trade, including through information sharing and capacity building activities.