EU regulations on tropical timber and their potential impacts in the Congo Basin region

Faculty of Forestry, Department of Forest Economics and Management, Technical UniversityZvolen, Slovak Republic

In the framework of the definition of general policies and legislations of its Member States, the EU has enacted two types of regulations which can apply to the tropical wood imports in its domestic markets: the EU CITES regulation and the FLEGT/VPA instruments. This paper reviews both regulation systems to assess some potential impacts they could have on the countries of Congo Basin region. The paper shows that States of Congo Basin region could experience contrasted impacts: hence the need to recommend more synergies among the contracting Parties for minimizing some negatives effects.