SVLK Against Illegal Logging

Indonesian legal wood.Timber Legality Verification System (or SVLK in Indonesian; sistem verifikasi legalitas kayu) is an Indonesian effort to assure the legality of its timber products, which is in line with the trend of major timber market globally and will meet this stronger demand for legal timber.

Its application is based on the Indonesian Minister of Forestry Decree No. P.38/Menhut-II/2009 junto P.68/Menhut-II/2011 junto P.45/Menhut-II/2012 junto P.42/Menhut-II/2013 on the standards and guidelines of performance evaluation of sustainable forest management and timber legality verification for permit holder or on private forest. These regulations are reinforced by the Indonesian Minister of Trade regulation No. 64/M-DAG/PER/10/2012 on provisions for export of forestry industry products.

Same as another country such as Japan, the government of Japan applies Goho-wood or green Konjuho which requires that timber imported into the country comes from legal sourses. The government of the United States of America amanded the Lacey Act, aimed at avoiding import of illegal timber into the country. The European Union issued timber regulation No. 995/2010 obliging operator to possess irrefutable proofs that timber product that they trade don't come from illegal sources and prohibiting illegal timber.

SVLK stipulates that the forestry business unit must get certified for sustainable forest management or timber legality certificate. Further, all timber-related industrial units, either primary industry (timber processing industry) and secondary industry (industry that raw materials derived from primary industry products), have to obtain a legality certificate. Sustainable forest management or legality assessment or audit is conducted independently assessor who is accredited by the nasional accreditation agency (or KAN in Indonesian) and are monitored by NGOs or civil society. SVLK has also been conducted in natural forest and plantation forest covering.