VPA Impact Monitoring

an “evidence-based policy cycle” reiterative/adjustable to steer by based on reality checks to show if implementation leads to the intended effects FLEGT /VPA How Why

Monitoring obligations for the EU To monitor the progress and impacts of the EU FLEGT Action Plan The EU is a party to each and every VPA Key issues that EC finds important

EU objectives for VPA impact monitoring To understand progress and changes over medium to long term, in each VPA country To understand where improvements are needed

Objectives partner country stakeholders To monitor VPA effects on the ground Are expected changes really coming about?

Towards agreed national monitoring (1/2) Agreement between all partners/stakeholders Agree on key impact areas that could be monitored in all VPA countries over time Propose potential indicators for capturing evidence

Towards agreed national monitoring (2/2) Identify available methodologies Rely on available data when possible Identify other monitoring processes and existing data sources, also in terms of baseline setting

Step-by-step Ghana has taken first steps in the development process – stage of impact area Assist other countries willing to take next steps with this VPA commitment

Options for Priority Impact Areas 1.Institutional effectiveness 2.Accountability 3.Illegal logging 4.Tenure and access 5.Forest management 6.Livelihoods and poverty 7.Civil society effectiveness 8.Economic development 9.Domestic market development

Monitoring system Description Third party audits of LAS Audits are mandatory component of the LAS. The independent audit is expected to identify systemic failures and provide appropriate recommendations for addressing those failures. This is to help improve effectiveness of the system and to make it credible nationally and internationally. Government monitoring Regular monitoring conducted by government agencies to oversee forest operations Legality verification systems Regular checks of routine controls that provides evidence of legal compliance with the legality definition. May be conducted by government service or third parties, including civil society. Multi-stakeholder VPA monitoring committees Oversight for VPA implementation. May include government, private sector companies and civil society. Independent monitoring (observation) by civil society of forest operations Some countries have engaged independent observers to check compliance of field operations (e.g. Congo, Cameroon) VPA impact monitoring Impacts to be agreed after signing VPA. Impact monitoring will require baseline data and agreement on periodicity of regular data collection upon which to assess impacts.