RAISING THE STANDARDS TECHNICAL SERIES RAISING THE STANDARDS Monitoring the technical and environmental standards 39 of tropical timber products in international markets SEPTEMBER 2011 ITTO TECHNICAL SERIES 39 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION International Organizations Center, 5th Floor, Pacifico-Yokohama, 1-1-1, Minato-Mirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, 220-0012, Japan Tel 81-45-223-1110 Fax 81-45-223-1111 Email [email protected] Web www.itto.int © ITTO 2011 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION RAISING THE STANDARDS TECHNICAL SERIES RAISING THE STANDARDS MONITORING THE TECHNICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS OF TROPICAL TIMBER PRODUCTS IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS ITTO TECHNICAL SERIES #39 INTERNATIONAL TROPICAL TIMBER ORGANIZATION 1 RAISING THE STANDARDS Raising the standards Monitoring the technical and environmental standards of tropical timber products in international markets ITTO Technical Series No 39 by Jukka Tissari The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) is an intergovernmental organization promoting the conservation and sustainable management, use and trade of tropical forest resources. Its 60 members represent about 80% of the world’s tropical forests and 90% of the global tropical timber trade. ITTO develops internationally agreed policy documents to promote sustainable forest management and forest conservation and assists tropical member countries to adapt such policies to local circumstances and to implement them in the field through projects. In addition, ITTO collects, analyses and disseminates data on the production and trade of tropical timber and funds projects and other actions aimed at developing industries at both community and industrial scales. All projects are funded by voluntary contributions, mostly from consumer member countries. Since it became operational in 1987, ITTO has funded over 1000 projects, pre-projects and activities valued at around US$350 million. The major donors are the governments of Japan, Switzerland, the United States of America, Norway and the European Union. Front cover photo: Square edged and graded tropical hardwood in a UK timber importers warehouse. M. Adams/ITTO Back cover photo: Timber warehouse in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. T. Yanuariadi /ITTO © ITTO 2011 This work is copyright. Except for the ITTO logo, graphical and textual information in this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part provided that it is not sold or put to commercial use and its source is acknowledged. Disclaimer The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of his current employer (the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) or ITTO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this paper do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. ISBN 4-902045-88-5 2 RAISING THE STANDARDS FOREWORD Tropical forest industries create value from the use of forest resources and can contribute to their sustainable management. The potential for revenue and employment can be increased, for example, by the expansion of production and exports of further-processed products. Opportunities for tropical forest-based industrial development include growing product demand in emerging markets; new markets for secondary processed wood products; the expanded use of lesser-used species; new product and process innovations; and the commercialization of forest-based services. Technical and environmental standards have become important in the international trade of tropical timber products. For example, phytosanitary regulations in importing countries require that wood and wood-packaging materials are subject to certain treatments to minimize the risk of exporting wood-borne pests and diseases. There are also requirements for dimensional consistency in wood exported for uses such as flooring, decking and furniture. If they wish to maintain or increase access to international markets, producers in tropical countries need to comply with the technical and environmental standards that apply in those markets. The purpose of the study presented here was to monitor and assess major developments in technical and environmental standards, especially in selected major international markets. It was also designed to facilitate information exchange on technical and environmental standards relating to tropical timber products. My thanks go to the author of the report, Jukka Tissari. It is my hope that the information contained in the report, most of which was current in mid-2010, and the recommendations it makes, will assist tropical producer countries in complying with the main technical and environmental standards required for tropical timber products in international markets. Emmanuel Ze Meka Executive Director ITTO August 2011 3 RAISING THE STANDARDS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was prepared under the ITTO Biennial Work Programme 2008–2009 by Jukka Tissari of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Several ITTO staff greatly contributed to and facilitated the implementation of the study. The author particularly acknowledges the support of Emmanuel Ze Meka, Takeichi Ishikawa, Tetra Yanuariadi, Ramon C. Arellano and Hwan Ok Ma. The report was edited by Alastair Sarre and the ITTO Communications Unit. 4 RAISING THE STANDARDS TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD..............................................................................................................................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..........................................................................................................................................................................4 ACRONYMS.AND.ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................................................................................7 1...INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................................................................8 Objectives..........................................................................................................................................................................................8 2...STANDARDS.IN.THE.WORLD.TRADE.CONTEXT...................................................................................................................9 Principles.and.benefits.of.standardization.............................................................................................................................9 World.Trade.Organization............................................................................................................................................................9 Technical.barriers.to.trade....................................................................................................................................................9 Sanitary.and.phytosanitary.measures........................................................................................................................... 10 Government.Procurement.Agreement........................................................................................................................... 10 Defining.product.quality.with.standards............................................................................................................................. 10 Developing-country.perspective.............................................................................................................................................. 10 3....REVIEW.OF.STANDARDS.FOR.ROUNDWOOD.AND.PRIMARY.PROCESSED.. WOOD.PRODUCTS....................................................................................................................................................................... 12 International.and.national.associations’.work.on.standards........................................................................................ 12 ATIBT......................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 IWPA,.IHPA.and.NHLA....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Harmonization.of.standards.systems.................................................................................................................................... 13 CEN.Standard.and.Keymark............................................................................................................................................. 14 CE.marking............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 International.Organization.for.Standardization................................................................................................................ 14 ISO.Technical.Committee.218.......................................................................................................................................... 15 ISO.9000................................................................................................................................................................................