Dear partners and friends,

The Forest Legality Initiative (FLI) has had a productive year, and as the summer winds down here in North America we are preparing for a busy fall, including the 2nd Annual Forest Legality Week in October, new publications on the horizon, a revamp of our website, and continuing and expanding on existing activities with many of you. The Open Timber Portal is now live in the two Congos and is in the process of expanding to cover other countries. Our work on wood identification technologies with numerous U.S. and international institutions, and the Global Timber Tracking Network, has been particularly active as well.

In-country work on timber traceability is moving ahead in Indonesia and Peru. We are also building on our past work on private sector timber legality due care training with the International Wood Products Association (IWPA) to expand that work to Peru, in collaboration with the FAO, Global Timber Forum, and local partners. We have been closely involved with the expanding focus on timber, particularly rosewood, under the CITES Convention. We were honored to support the planning and carrying out the forest crime theme at the Oslo Tropical Forest Forum in June. And as I write, we are preparing to present and moderate at the technology-focused panels at the Interpol Global Forestry Crime Conference September 4-6 in Lyon.

 

Finally, we’re very pleased to introduce two new team members: Achille Djeagou is supporting our work on the Open Timber Portal from our Kinshasa office, and Maite Knorr-Evans has joined our team as communications intern. They have both hit the ground running and are helping us expand and strengthen our projects.

We hope to see many of you at Forest Legality Week in October or otherwise hope to cross paths with you soon.

Best Regards,

Chip Barber, Director, Forest Legality Initiative

For more Information, please check: HERE