ANNEX XISupplementary provisions
ANNEX XI PUBLISHING INFORMATION Publishing information encourages transparency and ensures a good understanding of the FLEGT licensing scheme on the part of all actors, enabling them to ensure good governance in terms of forestry management. It enables the different actors to understand the whole process leading up to the issuing of a FLEGT licence. The more information all actors have on the basic reasons underlying the FLEGT, its implementation, its monitoring and verification, the more an understanding of the process will be shared, internalised and sufficiently owned, in order to facilitate the implementation of the Agreement by all stakeholders. The method for producing the information shall be active publication or access. The information shall be published as rapidly as possible in order to retain all the relevance of its publication. 1. CONTENT OF THE REPORT OF THE JOINT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE The annual report of the Joint Implementation Committee shall include, in particular: — the quantities of timber and derived products exported to the European Union under the FLEGT licensing scheme, by customs code and by recipient Member State of the EU; — the number of FLEGT licences issued by the Central African Republic; — progress in achieving the objectives and actions to be conducted within a deadline determined in the Agreement and, generally, the different subjects related to Agreement implementation; — actions aimed at preventing any possible export of timber and derived products of illegal origin to markets other than the European Union or sale thereof on the national market; — the quantities of timber and derived products imported to the Central African Republic or having transited the Central African Republic; — action taken to prevent imports of timber and derived products of illegal origin in order to maintain the integrity of the FLEGT licensing scheme; — cases of non-compliance with the FLEGT licensing scheme in the CAR and action taken to resolve these cases; — the quantities of timber and derived products imported into the Union under the FLEGT licensing scheme, by relevant customs code and by recipient Member State of the Union; — the number of CAR FLEGT licences received by the Union; — the number of times timber from the CAR has arrived at Union customs without a licence and the quantities of timber and derived products involved; — the structure and functioning of the Joint Committee. 2. INFORMATION ON THE MEANS AND CHANNELS FOR PUBLISHING INFORMATION The information will be published by the Joint Implementation Committee and by both Parties, for information relevant to them. Information related to logging and timber movements will be available from the Forestry Data Centre (CDF) of the Ministry for Water, Forests, Hunting and Fisheries (MEFCP); an interconnection will enable the departments involved in forestry activities (MEFCP, finances, employment, agriculture, trade, justice) to be linked to the CDF database while the General Directorate for the Official Journal will publish all laws and regulatory texts online. Depending on the target audience, and on whether it is located in urban or rural areas, and whether it is predominantly literate or not, the information will be published through the following modern means and channels: — Active channels — State and private national and international press; — Local and community radio; — Conferences and discussion meetings; — Seminars and dissemination workshops; — Distribution of documentary films; — Production and distribution of radio/TV broadcasts; — Production of shows, etc.; — In addition, in the context of the communications plan, public information sessions will be held and will be an opportunity to distribute this information to stakeholders, particularly people on the ground and communities without access to the Internet and/or written press. — Passive channels — Internet sites of the Ministry for Water, Forests, Hunting and Fisheries; — Official Journal; — Library of the Ministry for Water, Forests, Hunting and Fisheries; — Statistical yearbook for the Forest and Hunting sector of the MEFCP; — Annual reports of the forest administration, which can be consulted in the central or decentralised departments at provincial level. Based on both active and passive channels, the published information will include data from the following areas. 3. LEGAL INFORMATION — International conventions and agreements signed and ratified by the CAR with regard to the protection of flora and fauna (CITES, etc.), the protection of human and peoples’ rights (UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 61/295, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, etc.), work and employment etc.; — The FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (body of text and its annexes); — Permit award decree; — Permit cancellation decree; — Forestry Code and all related regulatory texts; — Environment Code and all related regulatory texts; — Water Code and all related regulatory texts; — Employment Code and implementing regulations relating to the forest sector; — Finance Law for each year; — General Tax Code; — Investment Charters; — National COMIFAC Convergence Plan; — Poverty reduction strategy document; — Order creating the validation commission for forest land-use management documents (PG and PAO). The regulatory texts to be adopted during the implementation phase will also be made public. 4. INFORMATION ON THE PROCEDURES FOR ALLOCATING CONCESSIONS — Exploitation and land-use permits (PEAs) — Tender procedures manual for the PEA award process; — Notice of calls for tenders relating to permit allocations; — Notice of calls for tenders relating to the recruitment of the independent monitor in the PEA award process; — Minutes of the Joint Commission for Allocating Exploitation and Land-use Permits (PEAs); — Order establishing the Joint Commission for Allocating Exploitation and Land-use Permits; — List of bidders for exploitation and land-use permits; — Report of the independent monitor on the PEA award procedure; — List of valid concessions with names of beneficiary people and/or companies; — Minutes of meetings related to respect for local and indigenous communities’ customary rights of access and use in forest concessions. — Plantation forests — Notices of calls for tenders to run State plantations; — List of bidders to run plantations; — Authorisations to run plantations; — Environmental conformity certificate; — List of State plantations. 5. INFORMATION ON FOREST PLANNING — Exploitation and land-use plan — Environmental assessment reports (EIES, environmental audits); — Land-use planning document; — List and total areas of concessions under development; — List and total areas of concessions awaiting development; — National standards for producing land-use plans (Volumes 1, 2 and 3). — Plantation — Notice of call for tenders for environmental impact studies; — Environmental assessment report; — Simple management plan. 6. INFORMATION ON PRODUCTION — Total annual production of timber and derived products in all PEAs under exploitation; — Total annual production of timber and derived products in all plantations under exploitation; — Annual volume of timber and derived products for processing at national level, by species, concession and company; — List of destination countries and volumes exported by species, concession and company; — Annual volumes of timber seized; — Annual volumes of timber having transited through the CAR and their origin; — Volumes on the Central African Republic’s market. 7. INFORMATION ON PROCESSING — List of approved operational processing companies; — Location of processing facilities. 8. INFORMATION ON THE LEGALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM — FLEGT licensing scheme; — Report of the civil society independent monitor; — Information on forest activity and social clauses in the management plans (information and maps); — Information and maps on forest activity and social clauses in the annual operational plans; — Official report in the case of destruction of assets belonging to local or indigenous communities by the company; — Proof of compensation by the incriminated company; — Inspection visit report from the forestry administration; — Cases of non-compliance with the FLEGT licensing scheme in the CAR and actions taken to resolve these cases. 9. INFORMATION ON THE INDEPENDENT AUDIT — Regular summary audit reports; — Procedure for challenging the audit. 10. INFORMATION ON THE PAYMENT OF FOREST TAXES AND FEES — Annual rent; — Felling taxes; — Reforestation taxes; — Exit fees. 11. INFORMATION ON THE INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP — Structure and functioning of the Joint Implementation Committee; — Structure and functioning of the National Monitoring and Implementation Committee; — Permanent Technical Secretariat.