8 - 9 January 2007: OECD Round Table on Economic consequences of illegal logging
The 19th Round Table on Sustainable Development at the OECD will meet in Paris to discuss the economics of illegal logging and how to strengthen international efforts to stop illegal actions in the forestry sector.
The meeting will focus on the economics of illegal logging, attempting to identify the economic, legal and institutional factors that drive illegal activity.
In many countries where illegal logging is a severe problem, forestland ownership rights are unclear or non-existent. This, together with the fact that large areas in remote places are often involved, makes enforcement of property rights difficult.
Furthermore, the importance of sustainable forest management can be subordinated to pressing short term needs because of poverty and a lack of immediately obvious development alternatives in the countries concerned. Finally, there is a clear correlation between corruption and poor public governance and the rate of illegal logging.
The purpose of the meeting would be to:
give all the key players an overview of the different initiatives, analyze their likely effectiveness and interactions and synchronize the conversation so that people are talking the same language;
to take stock of the progress made to date;
identify the key barriers to progress and the possible ways forward.
WWF is an active participant of the round table conference.