CAR Will Be Required to Have a License Denoting Their Legal Origin

Thanks to legislation passed by the European Commission on 28 November, all wood imports into Europe via the Central Africa Republic (CAR) will be required to have a license denoting their legal origin, which will be fully implemented by 2014. The agreement will look to make the timber industry, a large portion of the CAR market, more transparent, so as to benefit the economies of both Europe and Africa. "Today's agreement will be a significant step forward in the Central African Republic's journey towards an improved legal and business environment for the timber trade, " said Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who went on to say that the "agreement also contributes directly to poverty reduction by supporting the timber sector which is the country's biggest private employer. "The CAR will set up a national system to ensure business compliance with the legal framework set out for timber production; The framework blankets all wood exports to the EU. By doing this, the CAR will eliminate illegal deforestation and environmental degradation, so prominent in African nations, that contribute to climate change. "This(agreement) is one important aspect of tackling climate change, with the added benefit of boosting trade to improve the livelihoods of forest communities through the development of environmental services", said Emmanuel Bizot, Minister for the Environment in CAR. Most importantly, the CAR is a landlocked country, with few lucrative job opportunities based within the country. The timber industry, ranking third in the nation's whole GDP, is one source of beneficial jobs to the citizens of the nation. By eliminating illegal practices, the population will hopefully benefit from increased job and trade Opportunities within CAR and abroad. Source: neurope.eu