"Currently, the World Bank affirms that 42% of the total timber production in Colombia comes from illegal logging
The Colombian government has been working to
control this phenomenon but there are several limitations. It recognizes that
regulatory mechanisms are used poorly because of operational weaknesses,
insufficient infrastructure and resources, and low local population
participation. Additionally, because illegal forestry can be performed at low
cost and with low investment, it can be performed either on big scales or just
for satisfying basic needs, which makes it an activity that is difficult to
detect.
The fight against illegal timber is a priority
for the current government. It is one of the stated goals in the National
Development Plan 2010-2014, which provides the guidelines for national
government policy. Up until now there have been no effective results on the
topic. The most relevant achievement to
date has been a non-binding intersectoral agreement that has helped to
highlight the problem of illegal logging on the national agenda.
Because the effects of illegal logging represent
a welfare loss for society, different economic agents could be willing to
compensate those timber producers who have responsible production methods. Whether
they are the final consumer or just an intermediate producer, they could gain
some type of reward for assuring their resources come from a legal activity.
However, all producers have incentives to present themselves as legal producers,
even if they are not. If the producer does not have an accurate way of
signaling themselves as legal producers, those who derive utility from knowing
their timber comes from a legal source have less incentive to reward legal
producers. In the end, the lack of
information is punishing responsible producers who follow the law and because
of that incur additional expenses.
If the government can provide the needed
information to the market, the consumers could identify with more certainty
which product comes from legal sources. Certifying responsible products could
do this. That means that the government should assure that the certified
products come from legal methods of extraction and management. It should assure
also that intermediate producers should not lie to their customers about the
legitimacy of the timber. Timber producers and suppliers would have three incentives
to participate in a certification program. First, legal timber can fetch a
price premium, so there is a market based incentive. Second, there may be a
first mover advantage. The producers who achieve certification earliest will be
able to capture a larger share of the early
benefits and may therefore generate a comparative advantage in producing and
selling certified timber. Finally, producers could be interested in protecting
themselves against potential strengthening of the already existing government
regulation, which could imply more onerous fines or greater probability of
capturing banned activities of those producers or retailers who still use
illegal timber. The certification procedure could help lead to an easier
transition to a wholly legal and sustainable market for timber.
For this policy to be successful it needs
industry support. Because illegal wood
implies activities against the law at different points of the supply chain, it
is important to have support of the different agents involved in it. Continued illegal logging could reduce the
credibility of the certification scheme, so certified participants have an
incentive to punish those who defect.
The government also needs to gain the trust of the relevant agents in
the market. The credibility of the
information, as well as government’s capacity to disseminate that information is
an essential feature for getting firms to participate. Even so, the
government´s credibility could be doubtful.
It is still the institution with the greatest power of coercion in the
country. The government might need to seek support from other entities to
strengthen its credibility. Traditionally private-public or international
alliances have been useful to gain credibility.
Institutions like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) already have
experience in the timber certification process. Finally, the government should try
to keep the program as cheap and simple as possible so really efficient results
could be achieved.
A successful policy would also use existing
programs and experiences to complement certification policy programs. For
example for guaranteeing the supply of legal timber this policy should work
with the government’s commercial reforestation policy. This project has been an
effort to provide incentives to producers of forest services and products to
cultivate their own “forests”. Because of Colombia’s geographical
characteristics, we have a comparative advantage in commercial reforestation,
although it has not been used because it was cheaper to use natural forests (Ministerio de
Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, 2011) . Commercial
reforestation could be used to facilitate legal supply and provide an alternative
to those who need to transition from illegal to legal activities. The
government has already gained recognition with the non-binding agreement
mentioned above. With it, government has already constructed a relationship
with different agents at different points of the supply chain, and has obtained
their commitment to achieve legality of the timber industry.
References
Ministerio de Agricultura y
Desarrollo Rural. (2011). Plan de Acción para la Reforestación Comercial .
Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y
Desarrollo Territorial. (2011). Pacto Intersectorial por la Madera Legal en
Colombia. Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo
Territorial."
No comments:
Post a Comment