‘If loggers in the Peruvian Amazon know they’re going to be audited they’re more likely to follow the rules,’ according to CIFOR scientist, Cesar Sabogal. This could be the key to better managing timber extraction in these important environmental areas for years to come.

Peru is home to the second largest portion of the Amazon Basin. The challenging task of managing its timber extraction belongs to the Peruvian National Resource Management Agency (INRENA). Of the Peruvian Amazon’s 69 million hectares, an estimated 48 million hectares are capable of long-term timber production. The government has designated 25 million hectares of that for permanent timber management.

As recently as six years ago itinerant loggers roamed the region cutting what they liked. But in 2000 a law was passed requiring timber concession holders to follow Forest Management Plans which include rules on sustainable timber extraction.

If concession holders obey this law, the concessions should continue to produce timber well into the future. But the law’s enforcement is weak – and that could prove dangerous for the Amazon. Previously, inadequate financial resources, poorly trained staff and corruption have made it difficult to keep track of concession holders’ activities. Furthermore, there were no clear standard procedures for evaluating the way they managed the forest. Timber concession holders said they agreed to Forest Management and Annual Operation Plans, but in reality they may still have been permanently damaging the forests.

A new way to help officials supervise and control activities in concessions was needed. In March 2003 CIFOR launched the ‘Auditing of forest management plans in timber concessions’ project. Working with INRENA, CIFOR developed an auditing system and trained government staff in its application and evaluation.

To conduct an audit government staff examine how the company’s actual forest management and logging operations compare with the concession agreement and the law. This way auditing staff can pinpoint bad practices and make recommendations for improvement, or provide incentives for good performance. These incentives include official certification for good forest management from groups like the Forest Stewardship Council.

Sabogal says this new approach reduces the risk of concessions being cancelled.

‘It is best for everyone, including the forest, if timber concessionaires retain their concessions,’ he says. 'This way operators learn how to manage their concessions sustainably.’

To be considered for extension, a concession must comply with Forest Management Plans plus any other conditions of the concession agreement. Sabogal says the new auditing system is sure to increase compliance.

‘Once they realise their performance is going to be audited closely, they’re more likely to follow these plans,’ he explains, 'and that means long term sustainable management of the Peruvian Amazon is more achievable.’

CIFOR’s Violeta Colan says the information and experience gained through auditing helps the government assess the laws and policies regulating forest management. Colan says this means future guidelines, regulations and laws will be informed by the realities of timber extraction in Peru.

Sabogal, Colan and CIFOR colleague, Benno Pokorny, began the auditing project with a review of existing research and the legal framework surrounding timber concessions in the Peruvian Amazon. They used the Criterion and Indicators forest auditing system developed by CIFOR and Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Organisation) as a starting platform. Then CIFOR consulted stakeholders before working with INRENA and other partners to develop a proposal. The project was tested in the field and a manual for auditors was prepared and workshopped at regional training courses. INRENA has included the manual in their ‘Guidelines for the strengthening of the concession sys-tem for timber production’ and recently incorporated the manual into the national forest regulations. INRENA’s Body for Forestry and Wildlife (IFSS) will implement the auditing and the Supervisory Body for Forest Timber Resources (OSINFOR) will be in charge of auditing, enforcement and overseeing compliance regulations.

When an area larger than the United Kingdom is allocated to timber concessions, it is essential loggers’ operations are audited carefully. CIFOR’s new auditing system is making the task much easier. CS, VC, AF

Funded by the Peruvian Technical Secretariat for Coordination (STC) with the CGIAR.