6th meeting of the steering committee of China-U.K. Collaboration on the International Forest Investment and Trade Programme (InFIT) was held in Beijing on 23 Jan. The steering committee is made up of Li Luning, official of Department of International Trade and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Ross Ferguson, representative of the U.K. Department for International Development in China, Dermot Shields, programme manager of the U.K. Forest Governance, Markets and Climate Programme Management Supporting Team (FGMC PMST), Fu Jianquan, Director of Division for International Commerce, Department of Development Planning and Assets Management, and Wang Hua, Director of Division for Bilateral Affairs, Department of International Cooperation, State Forestry Administration. More than 20 people from Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, CAF, China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals & Chemicals Importers & Exporters, and the Programme Management Office participated in the meeting. Li Luning presided over the meeting.
Since 2014, Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information has been developing the framework for timber legality policies, and promoting application of the guideline, sharing of forest tenure reform experience and capacity building of InFIT. During the meeting, the team of the Research Institute reviewed its achievements made in the past four years. Through the development of China’s timber legality verification system, promoting intra-regional timber legality mutual-ratification mechanism, developing the sustainable forest management guideline and its evaluation tool for Chinese overseas enterprises, launch and operation of China’s responsible trade and investment alliance, and developing China’s timber legality due diligence toolkit, the policy framework and its execution system for China’s timber legality management saw an initial form.
The Steering Committee spoke highly of the efforts and fruitful results made by the team, and appreciated the importance of the programme in promoting global ecological governance and promoting global sustainable forest management. It believes that the results of the programme provide technical support to the government in timber legality management, raise the awareness and capacities of the enterprises in legal operation and trade, facilitate the work of timber legality in China, and enhance China’s confidence and commitment in promoting legal trade. The representatives from the U.K. also showed their support to the second phase of InFIT. They would accelerate the popularization and translation of the results gained, expand the cooperation areas, strengthen policy dialogue, and better promote China-U.K. forest cooperation.
InFIT was initiated by SFA, MOFCOM and DFID, and a part of the FGMC programme of the U.K., aiming at reducing the influence of the international trade of China’s timber products and other forest products to forest degradation through combating illegal timber trade, and developing sound code of conduct to promote social and environmental resources management in developing countries. (Chen Yong, Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information)
