Forest Governance and Law Enforcement in the Mekong Region

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Activity Type: 
Activities Related to Forest Governance

CHALLENGE

Over the past years the Mekong region countries have increased their role in global timber trade and have been a focal point in the global discussion on forest governance and illegal logging. Countries in the region have different and complementing roles in the regional trade but much of the logging in natural forests in the region is still either unsustainable or unauthorized – or both. In all the countries, forest governance and law enforcement (FLEG) has been an actively issue in national debate.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has made important progress in building regional commitment to improving good governance in the forest sector. The next step would be to develop concrete and substantive local, national and sub-regional forest governance and law enforcement programs and projects to implement the agreed policies in a tangible way.

APPROACH

The objective of the Mekong Project is to build on the political will demonstrated at the FLEG East Asia and Pacific Regional Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia (hosted by the World Bank and Government of Indonesia in September 2001) and in the ASEAN. It aims to support diagnostics, capacity building, and policy and institutional reforms, through regional and national activities, that will directly address the causes and symptoms of forest crimes and improve forest governance generally.

The primary focus countries in the region will be Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Also key regional and global trading partners (e.g. China, Indonesia, and EU) will be included in the diagnostics. Close linkages with other on-going regional support (e.g. EU FLEG-T and VPA negotiations) will be maintained

Improved forest governance in the region will be achieved e.g. by

  • curbing illegal and unsustainable logging and trade,
  • introducing modern practices of crime prevention, detection and suppression
  • promoting efficiency and transparency in resource use, fiscal revenues and stakeholders participation
  • targeting a balance between national initiatives and multilateral collaboration, and
  • improving collaboration within the region and with countries in other regions

The project will take a phased approach with the first year dedicated to identifying priority areas through multi-stakeholder consultation, and strengthening the knowledge base. Based on the regional consultative process, the following 2–4 years would be dedicated to preparing and implementing a detailed action plan.

RESULTS

This activity is ongoing. Results and findings will be shared on this page when they become available. You can also follow us on twitter (twitter.com/forestideas) or subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates.

Last updated 06/16/2010