Official information
The Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) II European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East Countries Programme supported participating countries’ forest governance. At the regional level, the Programme aimed to implement the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG Ministerial Declaration and support countries to commit to a time-bound action plan; at the national level the Programme reviewed or revised forest sector policies and legal and administrative structures; and improved knowledge of and support for sustainable forest management and good forest governance in the participating countries, and at the sub-national (local) level the Programme tested and demonstrated best practices for sustainable forest management and the feasibility of improved forest governance practices at the field-level on a pilot basis. Participating countries included Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. The program was funded by the European Union and implemented by the World Bank in partnership with WWF and IUCN over a four year period (2013-2016).
How did FLEG come about?
In 2005, representatives of 44 governments signed the St. Petersburg Declaration, committing themselves to address illegal logging and improve forest governance. Momentum towards strengthening forest law enforcement and governance in the ENPI region grew when, in 2008, the EC, the World Bank, WWF and IUCN teamed up to implement the first ENPI FLEG Program (2008-2012, 6 million EUR).
The ENPI Forest Law Enforcement and Governance II (FLEG II) Program (2013-2016, 9 million EUR) built on the first ENPI FLEG I Program to support good forest governance, sustainable forest management and forest protection in the ENPI East region.
What did the FLEG II Program do?
The regional “European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) East Countries Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) II Program" promotes sustainable forest governance, management, and protection of forests in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine.
The Program supported participating countries to:
- Continue the implementation of the 2005 St. Petersburg FLEG Ministerial Declaration and up-scaling of successes of the ENPI East FLEG I project.
- Formulate and implement sustainable forest policies, including legal and administrative reforms for sustainable forest management and protection increase capacity.
- Demonstrate the best sustainable forest management practices in targeted areas, for further replication.
The Program also ensured the contribution of the region's forests to climate change adaptation and mitigation, to ecosystems and biodiversity protection, and to sustainable livelihoods and income sources for local populations and national economies.
The Program was part of the European Union's Eastern Partnership and a key part of the Environment Governance Pillar.
Learn about the Program, its donors and implementing organizations, and its impacts.