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VERIFOR is a research project on the verification of legality in the forest sector. It aims to work with partner institutions in tropical countries to ensure that timber and forest products are legally harvested and help producer nations put in place verification systems with high national and international credibility.
Read more at www.verifor.org...

Key verification policy themes
VERIFOR research findings are published on the Publications section of the VERIFOR website and are currently being collated for a forthcoming book. Some key themes recently highlighted by VERIFOR publications are outlined here.

VERIFOR Briefing Paper 6 discusses the convergence between verification and certification in the drive to legality assurance, examining the pros and cons of the convergence, and identifying some of the conditions that need to be met if the two instruments are to function in a mutually supportive way. Key policy conclusions include:

1. The growing policy focus on the verification of legal timber is likely to expose the certification movement to increased scrutiny over its interpretations of legal compliance.
2. FLEGT is also leading to a convergence between verification of legality and certification of sustainable management; this will need to be carefully managed.
3. There is a risk of conflicts of interest developing in agencies seeking to provide both certification and verification services.
4. Despite its limitations, certification may have much to teach the verification movement.
5. The two movements have different aims which should not be confounded. There are, however, good reasons to want to see both of them advance in a mutually supportive way.
6. A critical requirement is that certification should not pre-empt the policy processes associated with the definition of legal timber. It should seek instead to draw upon this new policy initiative so as to strengthen its credibility. More >

VERIFOR Briefing Paper 7 reviews and offers policy recommmendations on the use of technology within verification systems. Key findings include:

1. Technological advance by itself will not bring about improved forest sector governance.
2. A legal framework is needed that recognises the use of new technologies for law enforcement and allows for the conduct of public administration procedures on-line.
3. The introduction of forest control technologies must be integrated with similar technologies throughout the wider government structure.
4. The potential of the internet to make information about timber harvesting control and verification available offers a significant increment to the quality of governance.
5. Integrated database technologies have potential to enhance decentralized forest governance systems.
6. The myth that rural communities are reluctant to use modern technologies and the internet has already been broken, as is evident by their enthusiastic use of mobile phones and SMS-messages. More >

VERIFOR Briefing Paper 4 offers a contribution to the process of developing FLEGT, drawing on case studies from outside the forest sector. Using a 'discursive institutional approach', it distinguishes four dimensions that characterise partnerships: actors, rules, power and discourse.  Using these building blocks it identifies some of the key principles for verification system design. Policy conclusions include:

1. Effective verification systems are more likely to emerge from the concerted efforts of all the major stakeholders to jointly resolve a shared problem, rather than from technical solutions designed by a few.
2. NGO and private sector involvement in the design and implementation of verification systems is likely to enhance credibility and 'ownership'
3. Consensus emerges as a key principle of decision making notwithstanding its tendency to lengthen time frames.
4. Firm rules on non-compliance increase credibility.
5. Issues of power are likely to exert a critical influence on monitoring systems; dispersal of power within the verification body is conducive to success.
6. A peer review system is strongly indicated where credibility and trust are low. More>

News and regional updates
The VERIFOR project works over three regions: Africa, Asia and Latin America. Some key project and sectoral iniatives of interest are summarised below. Full details are available on the regional pages.

Africa: VERIFOR held a national workshop on verification in September, at CIFOR, Nkolbisson, Cameroon. The meeting discussed verification practice internationally and progress/challenges for Cameroon in particular.

David Brown, VERIFOR Project Director, presented on comparative lesson learning from international forest and extra-sectoral experience to The Policy Forum on Forest Verification System Development in Ghana, organised by the Ghana Forestry Commission. Other areas discussed included: progress in implementing the Validation of Legal Timber Programme (VLTP); forest sector institutions and economics and their implications for the validation of legal timber in Ghana; the future of the Ghana Forestry Commission.

Full details and relevant downloads on the VERIFOR Africa page...

Asia: Rob Oberndorf, VERIFOR focal point for Asia, has joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil's Verification working group and submitted comments on their verification guidelines.

Two recent workshops in China offered the chance to discuss verification and the VERIFOR project, in the 'China and the Global Forest Products Trade: Strengthening Production and Policy' and 'Improving Production and Livelihoods in China through Tenure and Regulatory Reform' sessions.

The 11th annual Asia Forest Network meeting discussed the links between timber verification and the MDGs, and developmental impacts of verification.

Full details and relevant downloads on the VERIFOR Asia page...

Latin America: A new regional website for VERIFOR has been launched, offering publications in Spanish and latest details on work in the region. Visit it now at: http://www.catie.ac.cr/VERIFOR

CATIE, the VERIFOR partner in Latin America, will soon be starting a postgraduate course covering many of the themes that are addressed by the project. More information on this course will be available soon.

In Costa Rica, CATIE has started work on the second phase of VERIFOR, with a revision of the legality standards with the support of local NGO FUNDECOR and the FAO.

VERIFOR has been involved in discussions on forest governance processes across the region, offering advice and presenting project case studies and research findings on legal and institutional options for verification to various key meetings in the region.

Full details and relevant downloads on the VERIFOR Latin America page...

Contact us
Project Director - David Brown: d.brown@odi.org.uk
South America - Hans Thiel: hthiel@plus.net.ec
Central America - Guillermo Navarro: gnavarro@catie.ac.cr
Africa - Tim Fometé: timfomete@yahoo.fr
Asia - Rob Oberndorf: orobert@ku.ac.th

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