Country Risk Profiles

Timber

Save your supply chain for quick access to risk data in the future. You will also receive notifications about changes in the risk profile of countries in your supply chain. You will need to create a supply chain for each country of origin that you source from.

Supply chain title

Country of harvest

Transit country (optional)

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List of risk mitigation options

If a risk has been identified for a specific commodity, then that risk will have to be mitigated before sourcing from the country of origin. Addressing a risk can be done by verifying documentation, or it can require onsite field verification. It can also include engaging with local communities. The complexity of such risk mitigation efforts will depend on the risk identified and the country of origin. Below is an overview of recommended actions for mitigating risks. The mitigation measures have been grouped by the types of actions relevant for the respective country. If you want to see each risk listed with the relevant mitigation options, please go to the Risk Overview tab. Please mind that risk mitigation is the responsibility of the purchaser of the product. This requires that the purchaser shall assess if the risk has been adressed.

Document verification

Stakeholder consultation

Field verification

Scientific testing

No mitigation options defined

Document verification

Collecting and validating relevant documents is a crucial part of identifying and assessing supply chain risks. A critical review of the documents is vital to mitigating risks and understanding their information value. Always be aware of the dangers of fraudulent documentation.

Risk mitigation options

Logging area

Source Types:Economic Land Concessions (ELCs)Conversion timber from infrastructure developmentTimber/ NTFP from community forestry areasConfiscated illegal timberTree plantations on private landTree plantations on state landTimber from Social Land Concessions (SLC)Natural Forest Concessions

Mitigation Option : Verify Logging area

Mitigation of risks related to compliance with harvesting regulations requires on-site verification: o Verify that the annual allowable cut is not exceeded o Verify legal compliance of all regulations relevant for harvesting

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that the regulations specified in ELC contract are violated

Mitigation Option : Verify Logging area

Mitigation of risks related to compliance with harvesting regulations requires on-site verification: verify that the annual allowable cut is not exceeded; verify legal compliance of all regulations relevant for harvesting

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that harvesting above the annual allowable cut take place

Forest Management Plan

Source Types:Conversion timber from infrastructure developmentEconomic Land Concessions (ELCs)Timber/ NTFP from community forestry areasConfiscated illegal timberTree plantations on private landTree plantations on state landTimber from Social Land Concessions (SLC)Natural Forest Concessions

Mitigation Option : Verify Forest Management Plan

Confirm that a valid and approved Forest Management Plan is in place

MARK AS DONE

Risk : The requirement to have management plans in place is not complied with

Mitigation Option : Verify Forest Management Plan

Review management plan / inventory / harvesting dossiers to verify that information provided across documents correspond and that it is feasible that the timber originates from the harvesting area indicated by the documentation. If conversion of natural forests has occurred, ensure that it is justified by reviewing relevant documents related to harvesting, as well as documents related to the planned project requiring conversion.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of laundering illegally harvested timber through ELC or conversion projects

Mitigation Option : Verify Forest Management Plan

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of misuse of conversion permits to harvest profitable forest areas

Harvesting permit

Source Types:Conversion timber from infrastructure developmentEconomic Land Concessions (ELCs)Timber from Social Land Concessions (SLC)

Mitigation Option : Verify Harvesting permit

Ensure that harvesting permits are in place and not misused to launder illegally logged timber. Harvesting shall take place within allocated boundaries, and if conversion takes place, this shall be justified.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of illegal harvesting beyond allocation boundaries

Supply chain documents

Source Types:Conversion timber from infrastructure developmentEconomic Land Concessions (ELCs)Timber from Social Land Concessions (SLC)

Mitigation Option : Verify Harvesting permit

Collect supply chain documents and compare information with the harvesting permit.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of laundering illegally harvested timber through ELC or conversion projects

Export documents

Mitigation Option : Verify Export documents

Collect export documents and verify that these are authentic and contain the required information: o Confirm information related to the product sourced, o Confirm that no alterations have been made to the export document. o Verify that material sourced does not exceed the allowed dimensions and are not listed as luxury timber. o Verify that information corresponds with supply chain documents relevant to the product and ensure that material has been sourced from a legal origin

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegally logged timber are exported illegally

Mitigation Option : Verify Export documents

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that export documents are falsely prepared

Mitigation Option : Verify Export documents

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that timber is illegally exported though unofficial border crossings

Mitigation Option : Verify Export documents

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegal export of restricted timber (luxury timber, timber bigger that 25cm width limit) is taking place

CITES import/export permit

Mitigation Option : Verify CITES import/export permit

Collect CITES permit for the species sourced and confirm with the authorities that the permit is authentic .Avoid buying CITES listed species unless it can be confirmed that a full inventory of the species has been done at a national level, and that a sustainable harvesting level has been set

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegal harvest and export of CITES species is taking place

Mitigation Option : Verify CITES import/export permit

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that CITES permits are illegally issued

NGOs

Mitigation Option : Verify NGOs

If a full inventory has been conducted at national level, ensure that relevant stakeholders (e.g., scientists and NGOs) agree with the permitted harvesting levels and that this level is sustainable compared to the national inventory of the given species.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegal harvest and export of CITES species is taking place

Stakeholder consultation

Stakeholder consultations can vary significantly in scope. It can range from consultation with indigenous peoples and local communities to have a single question raised with authorities in the sourcing country. The first step in any public consultation is to identify the relevant stakeholders. This requires first-hand knowledge of the communities and languages spoken. Always document the undertaking of a consultation process for future reference.

Risk mitigation options

Local villagers

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local communities and stakeholders to verify that no harvesting was done outside allocated boundaries and that conversion conducted was justified

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of misuse of conversion permits to harvest profitable forest areas

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local villagers to obtain information about the following aspects: ensure there is no overlapping property claims; ensure there are no conflicts between local communities and concession owners; verify that the area of a current ELC was not harvested prior to the allocation process.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of conflict and unclear land tenure rights

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of conflict between local and higher-level decision-makers around land use, frequently resulting in intimidation, threats or dismissal of the local authorities

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local villagers to obtain information about the following aspects; ensure there is no overlapping property claims; ensure there are no conflicts between local communities and concession owners; verify that the area of a current ELC was not harvested prior to the allocation process.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegal forest clearance taking place prior to the proper legal process for granting Economic Land Concessions being completed

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local villagers to verify that no legal violations related to the rights of local communities take place.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Logging Companies do not Provide Development to Villagers in Accordance with the Law

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local villagers to verify that no legal violations related to the rights of local communities take place.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Villagers are not Permitted by Logging Companies to Enter the Forest.

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local villagers to verify that no legal violations related to the rights of local communities take place.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Conflict between Villagers and Logging Companies

Mitigation Option : Consult Local villagers

Consult local communities and stakeholders to verify that no harvesting was done outside allocated boundaries and that conversion conducted was justified

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of laundering illegally harvested timber through ELC or conversion projects

Field verification

Not all risks can be mitigated unless the actual harvest site and operations are visited by competent staff or consultants able to verify legal compliance of the forest operations. If an onsite verification is needed will depend on the type of risks and the risk level in the country of origin. First-hand knowledge on forest operations and language skills are required to conduct a meaningful onsite verification.

Risk mitigation options

Logging area

Source Types:Conversion timber from infrastructure developmentEconomic Land Concessions (ELCs)Timber/ NTFP from community forestry areasConfiscated illegal timberTree plantations on private landTimber from Social Land Concessions (SLC)Natural Forest ConcessionsTree plantations on state land

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Onsite verification should confirm the place of harvest and confirm that no harvesting has taken place beyond the allocation boundaries.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of misuse of conversion permits to harvest profitable forest areas

Mitigation Option : Verify Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that guidelines and regulations are not complied with during the conversion of forests

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Mitigation of the risks related to protected sites and species require on-site verification: o Verify legal compliance of regulations related to protected sites and species at harvesting level. o Ensure that timber is not sourced from protected areas or sites

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that protected areas are illegally harvested due to inconsistent zoning of protected areas

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that ELCs/SLCs are allocated within protected areas

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegal logging of protected species (i.e. luxury timber/resin trees) takes place

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Mitigation of the risks related to environmental requirements require on-site verification: o Verify the legal compliance related to environmental requirements at harvesting level. o Verify that the company meets EIA requirements, as well as evaluation of the contents of the EIA document

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that environmental requirements, including respecting buffer zones are not complied with

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Ensure that the ELC parcel is not in practice managed as part of a larger ELC covering an area larger than 10,000 ha. Ensure that ELCs are not allocated within the wrong zoning of protected areas. Ensure that ELS are meeting their productive use objective. Check the permit and Forest Management Plan and ensure that the ELC are managed as planned, and not left unmanaged.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that the legal maximum allocation limit of 10,000 ha for ELCs is exceeded because many ELCs parcels of 10,000 ha are owned by the same investors, and are adjacent to each other

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Logging is approved despite EIA/ESIA showing negative social and environmental consequences, which is in violation of the law

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that ELCs are illegally allocated within protected areas and Natural forest areas.

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments are not in place prior to operations of ELCs

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that ELCs do not meet their productive use objectives.

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that there is fertilizer run-off from ELCs

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Mitigation of this risk shall include on-site evaluation of the employer to confirm that legal requirements related to employment and health and safety measures are complied with. This shall be done through observations and interview with staff.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that health and safety is ignored during logging operations

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Ensure that the information in the Forest Management Plan correspond with the actual situation on the ground

MARK AS DONE

Risk : The requirement to have management plans in place is not complied with

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that legal requirements relating to employment are not complied with

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Onsite verification should confirm the place of harvest and confirm that no harvesting has taken place beyond the allocation boundaries.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of laundering illegally harvested timber through ELC or conversion projects

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Ensure that export has been done through official border crossings

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegally logged timber are exported illegally

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Ensure that export has been done through official border crossings

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that export documents are falsely prepared

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Ensure that export has been done through official border crossings

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that timber is illegally exported though unofficial border crossings

Mitigation Option : Visit Logging area

Ensure that export has been done through official border crossings

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk that illegal export of restricted timber (luxury timber, timber bigger that 25cm width limit) is taking place

Scientific testing

Scientific testing can be used to identify species and verify the source of origin.

Risk mitigation options

Timber testing

Source Types:Conversion timber from infrastructure developmentEconomic Land Concessions (ELCs)Timber from Social Land Concessions (SLC)

Mitigation Option : Timber testing can in some situations help verify origin.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of misuse of conversion permits to harvest profitable forest areas

Mitigation Option : Timber testing can in some situations help verify origin

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of laundering illegally harvested timber through ELC or conversion projects

No mitigation options defined

We have not been able to identify mitigation options for the risks listed below due to the lack of available information. If sourcing from the respective country it will still need to be ensured that the risk is low for the sourced product. If you have suggestions on to how to address this risk, please send feedback through the feedback form, or make us aware by using sourcinghub@preferredbynature.org

Risk mitigation options

No mitigation options defined

Mitigation Option : No mitigation options were identified.

No mitigation options were identified.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of non-payment of taxes and fees

Mitigation Option : No mitigation options were identified.

No mitigation options were identified.

MARK AS DONE

Risk : Risk of non-payment of taxes and fees

Mitigation Option : No mitigation options were identified.

No mitigation options were identified.