The following documents detail the impact of the FLEGT-VPA and report on workshops conducted with stakeholders impacted by the agreement. The first two documents act as guidance for interested parties. The first provides information on the basic requirements of the VPA and provides some guidance on compliance for affected stakeholders. The second guides organisations through a one-day workshop focused on training for businesses. The other documents report on a series of training workshops conducted in 2016 and 2017. The workshops focused on raising awareness of the new regulations and their impact and discussing practical solutions for businesses to adapt to the VPA requirements. The documents provide background, summaries of the workshops, assessments of the workshops’ effectiveness and details of the conclusions and recommendations gathered from them.
Publication (2016-2017)
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Download file: VPA Compliance
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Report on training workshop on: FLEGT-VPA and its potential impact on business strategies
The training workshop “FLEGT-VPA and its potential impact on business strategies” was held by the Center for Education and Development (CED) and Binh Duong timber Processing Association (BIFA) on 28 November 2016 in Binh Duong province as one of the project activities. The objective of the training workshop was to build a capacity for businesses to adapt with VPA requirements. The training workshop focused on: introduction to major elements of VPA, key principles and criteria of the Legality Definition (LD) and guidance for the businesses to comply with these requirements; assessment of readiness of participating businesses in Binh Duong and nearby provinces to VPA; providing updates and Q&A on customs regulations for timber processing businesses, introduction of environmental funds for timber processing companies to improve its environmental management systems.
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Report on training workshop on “Evaluating the impact of latest commitments of FLEGT-VPA on timber businesses”
The training workshop “Evaluating the Impact of latest commitments of FLEGT-VPA on timber businesses” was held by the Center for Education and Development (CED) and Vietnam Chamber of Commercial and Industry in Da Nang (VCCI Da Nang) on 30 August 2017 in Da Nang as one of the project activities. The objective of the training workshop was to update the latest important contents of FLEGT-VPA and discuss the impacts and solutions for 3 items: imported timber control, organization classification, verifying the origin of the timber and FLEGT licensing.
See more: Report on training workshop on “Evaluating the impact of latest commitments of FLEGT-VPA on timber businesses” On December 4, 2017, the Center for Education and Development (CED) collaborated with the Center for People and Environment of the Central Highlands (COPE) to organise a workshop on “International regulations on the origin of timber and the impacts on timber businesses in Lam Dong province” in Da Lat. This training workshop is part of the “Promoting private sector engagement with the Voluntary Partners Agreement implementation process in Vietnam” project, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN).
The event was held with 35 participants representing the Lam Dong Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Forestry, the Provincial Forest Protection Department, timber enterprises (including: processing, producing and trading), the Radio The Voice of Vietnam Newspaper (VOV) and the Bank Newspaper. The workshop focused on: introducing the important contents of the VPA, the principles and criteria for legal definition of timber (LD) and guiding businesses to comply with the agreement, assessing their readiness, updating the questions about procedures of timber origin control in Lam Dong.
Despite this being a one-day workshop, businesses and stakeholders were provided with a lot of useful information on the concepts, requirements and importance of VPA/FLEGT. The participants also recognized that the access to information related to VPA/FLEGT was very limited and therefore many enterprises did not meet the legal requirements.
See more:On December 28, 2017, the Center for Education and Development (CED) collaborated with the Vietnam Administration of Forestry to organise a workshop on “Experience sharing and project result summary” in Hanoi (Army Hotel, No. 1 Nguyen Tri Phuong). This event is part of the “Promoting private sector engagement with the Voluntary Partners Agreement implementation process in Vietnam” project, funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The workshop was held with 70 participants representing the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, the Forest Protection Department, VCCI Hanoi and Da Nang, wood processing and exporting enterprises from the Central and North, community groups including forest planters and small processing enterprises in the North, civil society organizations and NGOs working on VPA / FLEGT projects. The workshop focused on: updating the latest requirements and information about the VPAs; sharing the results of impact assessment on economic, social, environment, administrative and legal procedures from new commitment contents of the VPAs and recommendations from businesses, communities and government agencies; sharing the results of the regional forum organized earlier in Hue by CED and VCCI; sharing experiences and reviewing project results; and discussing the impact of the VPAs on the target groups, especially timber processing enterprises.
The workshop collected many comments on researching results and lessons based on experiences of the project from agencies, departments, enterprise associations, timber enterprises, households and NGOs.
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The forum was held with 50 participants representing the Forest Products Association of Binh Dinh (FPA), the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA), the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association (VIFORES), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Da Nang, the Forest Protection Department of provinces in Central Vietnam, the Customs Department of Central Vietnam’s provinces, and the wood processing and exporting enterprises in Central Vietnam’s provinces. The forum focused on: (i) updating enforcement requirements related to timber origin, origin and trade; (ii) discussing how to enable businesses to have control to ensure legal timber is used throughout the supply chain; (iii) discussing the role of the forest ranger and customs authorities in the future regarding legal timber control; (iv) proposing to increase cooperation and support between enterprises, customs and forest rangers to ensure that timber and timber products produced and processed in Vietnam are legally obtained.
As a result, many ideas were shared between representatives of agencies, enterprise associations, timber enterprises and NGOs. Representatives also proposed recommendations for the project and related agencies in order to create favourable conditions for enterprises to properly implement the requirements of the VPAs/FLEGT.
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The one-day workshop was held with participants representing Dong Ky Furniture Association members and other timber businesses in Bac Ninh. The content of the workshop focused on providing international requirements for small and micro businesses for timber trade, assessing businesses’ readiness to engage VPA, and guiding business practices group exercises to better understand how to meet VPA requirements in the future. The workshop applied practical methodologies, focused on discussion, exchanges and sharing among businesses and specialists, and facilitated learning among participants through group work and discussions. The group of trainers and speakers was diverse and provided a lot of useful updated information, new knowledge and skills for businesses.
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Download Report CED-Dong Ky 22.11.17_ENG