Legality Requirements

The legal, ethical and sustainable harvest of timber and timber products is the cornerstone of FSC’ s vision and mission. It is our first principle of responsible forest management.

 

Though complex and confusing, timber legality laws are important to FSC, our certificate holders, our stakeholders and – of course – to forests and the forest communities that depend on them.

 

When these laws are effectively enforced, illegal logging and trade practices are reduced, the crime and destruction that come with illegal logging diminishes, and are conditions improved for foresters and forest communities seeking to sustainably manage their forests.

 

In Asia Pacific, the timber legality landscape is constantly changing – different countries have different laws and methods of enforcement, and often what is legal in one country may not be in another country. Over the past 15 years or so, China has become the largest importer of tropical timber, with Japan and South Korea being major players. Countries that were better known for exports – Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam – have now become importers; and all the while, illegal timber has continued to flow across borders.

 

In the last few years, each of these countries have taken initiatives to prevent illegal timber imports, but these initiatives are in different stages and take different approaches.

 

Whatever the current situation, FSC is committed to helping our certificate holders comply with timber legality requirements – in their home countries and in their export and trading markets.