Monday 20 October 2008

Brussels avoids crackdown on illegal timber

After a series of delays, the European Commission unveiled on Friday (17 October) a legislative proposal to tackle the scourge of illegal logging.

However, the EU executive has acceded to demands from some sectors of the timber trade that it police itself.

Instead of requiring that traders halt timber imports to the EU from illegal sources, the commission's proposal only demands that they "seek sufficient guarantees" that no laws are being broken when the wood is harvested.

"Developed and developing nations must unite to protect the world's remaining forests," said environment commissioner Stavros Dimas, who is believed to have supported a more robust approach that what was ultimately agreed upon.
"We must ... send a firm message to timber suppliers that illegal timber or timber products will not be tolerated on the EU market," he added.

According to the commission, some 19 percent of timber imports to the bloc comes from sources involved in the illegal harvesting of timber, a practice that is a major cause of biodiversity loss and deforestation. Deforestation, in turn, is responsible for around 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Corruption in forestry is a variegated phenomenon, according to the EU's executive, involving give-away logging concessions, log smuggling, and logging without permits, as well as fraud and tax evasion.

It most often occurs in developing and emerging economies, particularly in the Amazon basin, central Africa, southeast Asia and the Russian Federation, although within the EU, it has also been known to occur in Estonia and Bulgaria.

Illegal logging is often financially linked to organised crime, money laundering and civil wars. In conflict zones, revenues from the trade are often used to buy arms and pay soldiers' salaries.

Moreover, third-world governments lose an estimated €15 billion a year in lost taxes, stumpage fees - fees paid to cut wood on public land - and export duties due to illegal logging, representing a full third of the €46 billion the 27 EU member states give annually in development aid.

However, illegal logging is also extremely profitable for the timber trade. Depending on the wood product category, the price of timber coming into the EU drops by an estimated seven to 16 percent via the practice, according to the OECD.

A nefarious sector

Those sections of the timber trade that tend to be closer to the consumer, such as home improvement shops and lumber yards, have long supported strict pan-European laws against the trade, as they are very worried that their efforts to paint wood as a renewable, environmentally friendly, ethically produced resource are being undermined by exposes of abuses and are afraid that wood could become stigmatised as a nefarious sector in the same way that diamonds and coffee have been in recent years.

At the same time, say environmental groups, who want the sale of illegal timber made a criminal offence - just as it is a criminal offence for a pawn shop to knowingly sell a stolen ring, those companies further down the supply chain with less of a publicly recognisable brand to manage are not as concerned.

Worried that an expected commission proposal to tackle illegal logging might endanger profits, sector trade associations including the European Confederation of Paper Industries (CEPI), the European State Forest Association, and the Confederation of European Forest Owners (CEPF) wrote joint letters to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso twice, once in May and again in September, demanding a meeting to outline their concerns and complaining about the access of green NGOs to forestry officials within the EU executive.

Due diligence system

Under the proposal unveiled on Friday, operators would be required to "minimise the risk" of putting illegally harvested wood on the EU market via the "due diligence system," in which a trader has to seek reasonable assurance of the legality of the timber he buys and sells.

The standard, whose enforcement rests with the member states, is much weaker than a blanket prohibition on the placing of illegally harvested timber on the European market - an option the commission considered but in the end rejected, as it was considered "too burdensome for the EU industry," according to the commission.

Additionally, the proposal makes an exception for wood products used in energy production. The commission argues that sustainability criteria currently being developed for biofuels will be sufficient.

Greenpeace points out that this will produce a double standard: "Wood-based biofuels and biomass would need to be sustainable but not necessarily legal, whereas all other wood products would need to be legal but not necessarily sustainable," the group said in a statement.

The environmental group says that there could be a reliable traceability system, tracking wood products from forests to retailers - as the EU currently demands of food via "farm-to-fork" monitoring. This would involve third-party verification, an independent public monitoring system to assess the performance of private schemes, and a public information system to help operators identify high-risk products or suppliers.

The campaigners also want to see a regulator with the powers to control timber products, investigate crimes and prosecute offenders.

source: euobserver

Sunday 11 May 2008

Eurostat tool kits

In order to complete its statistical tools, the Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, have “Tables, Graphs and Maps” (TGM) interface on its website. Based on 1,300 predefined and continuously updated tables, users are able to create customisable graphics and maps for use in publications and presentations.

The current version presents economic, social and sustainable development indicators which can be adapted depending on the countries, date and data classes covered. For the regions, tables and maps can be created in the “long-term indicators” section on data such as population density, gross domestic product and unemployment rates. All tables, graphs and maps are available in English, French and German. First time users can take a demo tour and are requested to give feedback on the new service.

For you, who interested in statistics, don’t hesitate to having fun with that kind of tools.


Saturday 10 May 2008

Top 10 European rural tourist destinations

In order to draw attention to the value, diversity and shared characteristics of European tourist destinations and to promote destinations where commercial success goes hand in hand with social, cultural and environmental sustainability, the European Commission awarded the “European Destination of Excellence” to the ten best emerging rural destinations.

Googling in the internet, I found that in 2007 there are ten winning destination in Europe that has awarded the EDEN, namely:

Austria: Pielachtal, Dirndl is the valley’s trademark

The Pielachtal is a valley in the Alpine foothills of the province of Lower Austria. Its culture, nature, way of life, handicrafts and specialty foods are combined to form a network of innovative offers. The Dirndl, or Cornel, popularly known as a cherry, is cultivated as the valley’s “trademark”.

Belgium: Durbuy, the smallest city of the world

The community Durbuy is situated in Wallonia in the Ardennes, and consists of 40 small villages. Durbuy is registered as "city" since the Middle Ages for its efficient justice and trade organization. Thus the old town of Durbuy became "the smallest city of the world".

Croatia: Sveti Martin na Muri, preserved natural heritage

The district of Sveti Martin na Muri is located in the North, close to the tri-border with Slovenia and Hungary, where the River Mura enters the territory of Croatia. The destination has been profiled as a rural as well as a spa destination. It has a thermal spring of medicinal water and is the largest and one of the most beautiful spas in Croatia.

Cyprus: Troodos, A relaxing break away from cosmopolitan coastal resorts

Troodos has five distinct regions, grouped around Mount Olympus. The area offers an abundance of things to do and see: walking or cycling through forest nature trails, attending local village festivals, experiencing the local traditional cuisine and discovering the cultural treasures of UNESCO World Heritage sites are among the main pursuits.

Greece: Florina, Conciliating tourism and rural environment

The region of Florina is located in Northern Greece in West Macedonia. Geographically, it consists of mountainous and semi mountainous areas and lowlands. The mountains of Varnoutas, Vernon and Voras contain the ski centre and European Alpine routes whose peaks reach out to the fertile valleys and the six lakes of Prespes.

Hungary: Örség, Characteristic landscape in harmony with nature

The Õrség region is located in the most western corner of Hungary. The unique landscape is characterized by a variety of natural beauties: hills and valleys, deciduous and coniferous woodlands, green hayfields, moors, springs and streams. Besides these beauties, the unchanged folk traditions and customs, traditional crafts and the products of self-sufficient farming and lifestyle also attract visitors.

Ireland: Clonakilty District, amenities of natural beauty

The Clonakilty District is situated on the coast in South West Ireland. There are many amenities of natural beauty which are easily accessed. In addition to an abundance of activities on land and sea, music sessions and fresh local produce there are also a full range of heritage sites, galleries, pubs, walking routes and fishing points.

Italy: Specchia, Tradition meets innovation

Specchia is located in Southern Italy (Province of Lecce, Puglia Region). It is a site of great natural and cultural value and an important centre for the rural economy in the region. Specchia is a shining example of a place where tradition meets innovation. For example, there is the Protonobilissimo castle, which dates back to the XV century, as well as a public access Centre for advanced digital services.

Latvia: Kuldiga, The Latvian Venice

Kuldiga town in the Kurzeme region with its historical part and Valley of the River Venta is known as “The Latvian Venice”. Its tourism recourses are based on its historical and cultural heritage and the Venta River which is one of the largest and most picturesque rivers of Latvia. “Ventas Rumba” is the widest waterfall in Europe (240m).

Malta: Nadur, Scenic beauty which are unique and rather rare

Nadur is situated on the easternmost hill of the island of Gozo, Malta's sister-island. Fresh fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, oranges, lemons and melons from the fields of Nadur are distributed around Malta and Gozo. Nadur also has a plenty of cultural heritage and offers a number of areas of scenic beauty which are unique and rather rare.

Friday 9 May 2008

Europe Day: EU searching for a political identity

The 9 May is Europe Day, the commemoration of the proposal by Robert Schuman on the creation of an organised Europe, indispensable to maintenance of peaceful relations on 9 May 1950. Seven years later, it was followed by the signing of Treaty of Rome on 27 March 1957. Six founding countries namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Treaty. Today, the 9th of May has become an European symbol (Europe Day) which, along with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the single currency (the euro), identifies the political entity of the EU.

Since the the EU has grown from 6 original member countries to 27 today, expending its original role promoting economic cooperation into an integrated bloc which share currency, common borders and cooperation on areas ranging from the environment and immigration to defence and foreign policy. It shows the achievement of the evolution process of the European integration from the start to the various stages of the integration project: Coal and Steel Community, Economic Community, European Community, European Union.

Considering the achievement of the European Union integration, we should take notice that those process of integration obviously involved Eastern Europe countries and Balkan which were belong to Communist bloc during the cold war. At that moment, it was difficult to construct cooperation with those countries under the same common position.

With regard to the EU’s achievement on the process of integration, we are also seeing that at this time the EU are challenged by internal issues such as streamlining the economic differentiation in each member countries; particularly refer to the 12 new member countries which joined to the EU since 1 May 2004 and 1 January 2007.

In the political and security cooperation, it’s seem that the EU is trying to enhance its profile in international fora. In this context we can see the EU involvement into conflicts in Middle East, Iran, Darfur as well as monitoring the general election in Aceh. With its modalities, the EU could maintain its role in maintaining political and security issues.

In this regard we should consider the revival of the EU power to influence the development of other regions which will cover issues among other are economic and trade as well as political and economic issues, principally for the developing countries