Hand made cane and rattan furniture frames from Indonesia 

Our furniture frames are handmade in Indonesia from sustainable, renewable materials such as cane and rattan. To source timber products from companies in Indonesia, this requires the exporting company to hold a FLEGT License and VPA. FLEGT License and VPAs are part of new legislation created by The EU. The licenses confirm that timber or timber products fully comply with the relevant laws of the country of export. This legislation has been created in order to combat illegal logging. As responsible importers, we will only source from providers who adhere to these regulations. 

Why Indonesia?  

Indonesia covers about 181.2 million hectares spread over 17 000 islands of which approximately 70% of the land in Indonesia is categorised as forested.  Half of this land is allocated for production purposes. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest exporters of tropical timber products. Logging activities occur in natural forests, industrial plantations and household-managed small-scale plantings. Indonesia exports a wide variety of timber products, ranging from: plywood, pulp and paper to furniture and handicrafts. 

Indonesia is also the biggest FLEGT VPA-country trade partner of the EU. Exporting timber products worth EUR 1.1 billion in 2019. The main export markets are in Asia (China, Japan and South Korea). 

In 2003, the EU adopted the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan. Designed to address illegal logging and associated trade. The Action Plan ensures cooperation between producers and consumers and a combination of demand- and supply-side measures. Indonesia is the first country to reach the milestone of FLEGT licensing. Part of the EU FLEGT Action Plan includes the EU Timber Regulation. This prohibits operators from placing illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market.  

FLEGT licenses and VPAs 

FLEGT licences are documents issued by timber-producing countries that have ratified a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. The licences confirm that timber or timber products fully comply with the relevant laws of the country of export.  

For a VPA country to issue FLEGT licences, it must put in place a timber legality assurance system and other measures outlined in the VPA. When fully operational, VPA timber legality assurance systems are robust and credible. FLEGT licences discourage illegal trade and level the playing field for law-abiding businesses.  

FLEGT licences eliminate the risk of importing illegal products which is an advantage for EU traders. FLEGT licences show that a country manages its forests in line with forest management and environment laws, as well as labour and community welfare legislation. They show that logging rights have been granted according to the law, and timber is legally harvested. The licences also confirm that products comply with legal requirements for trade and export. As well as required taxes and fees are paid.  

On 15 November 2016, Indonesia began issuing FLEGT licences to verified legal timber products exported to the EU. In 2017, Indonesia issued 38 961 licences for shipments exported to all 28 EU Member States. Total value of more than one billion euros. In 2019, there were 40 261 licences issued for the export of timber products (for more information see Indonesia’s SILK database). 

Our producers/suppliers in Indonesia all hold FLEGT licenses and comply with the regulations.  

 Indonesia started to develop an operator-based timber control system for all its timber exports, building on a mandatory third-party certification approach for legality and sustainability. The system, called SVLK, became the basis for the timber legality assurance system under Indonesia’s Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. The VPA covers all exports, and its coverage will expand to include the domestic market on a stepwise basis. 

To find out more about FLEGT Licenses and VPA click here. 

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