Forestry Demands on the Rise!

The Russian Impact

In response to the invasion of Ukraine, lead by Russia and with the support of Belarus, the PEFC Council Board of Directors has issued a statement on 4 March 2022, clarifying that all timber originating from Russia and Belarus as ‘conflict timber’ and therefore cannot be used in PEFC-certified products. 

Will the cost of timber rise for the manufacturing and building industry with the chain of supply cut?

The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE) are now seeking to clarify the impact the decision will have on Australian Manufacturing and Building Industry if an alternative source is not established soon the delays to construction and manufacturing may have a bigger impact on Australian than initially thought at the time of the decision. 

Initial advice from DAWE is as follows:

• ‘Conflict timber’ has some interactions with the due diligence obligations under the Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012. S 13 sets out that importers electing to use the ‘regulated risk factors’ option to undertake their due diligence assessment on prospective imports must consider the prevalence armed conflict in the area where the timber was harvested.

• For importers electing to use ‘timber legality frameworks’ option under s11 to undertake due diligence assessments, which use PEFC or FSC certification as the basis, the importer must also consider ‘any other information the importer knows, or ought reasonably to know, that may indicate whether the product, is made from, or includes, illegally logged timber’.

• The Regulation sets out a number of civil penalties for importers failing to adhere to due diligence obligations.

• DAWE will email importers advising that armed conflict can be associated with increased illegal logging activity, and encouraging due diligence efforts to take this into account.

Further information to come as the issue develops and unfolds as the Australian Furniture Association will be meeting with the Department on Tuesday 8/03/2022 to discuss the impacts on the furniture sector and seek further advice from DAWE.