In 2000, the Republic of Congo adopted a new forestry law that emphasised export-oriented, large-scale industrial forestry. Timber from small-scale logging operations for the domestic market were ignored, not recorded in official statistics and generally produced without a valid permit. Congo in 2009 initialled and in 2010 signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the European Commission, promising a legal framework for all national timber production by 2013. Preparations for the implementation of the VPA are well underway for the forest concessions, especially in the northern part of the country, but the domestic timber sector has been largely ignored in this process. This report presents a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the country's domestic timber market as a step towards identifying options for legalising the market and ensuring its sustainability. its sustainability.

Authors: Lescuyer, G.; Yembe-Yembe, R.I.; Cerutti, P.O.

Subjects: logging, illegal logging, policy, tropical rain forests

Publication type: Paper-R, Publication

Year: 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17528/cifor/003715