What are severity parameters and why are they important?
Until now, most IM reports do not provide any information on the relative importance of an observation in the context of common infractions or in relationship to the legal framework. This is particularly true in reports from the mandated IM who often limit interpretations of their findings to ensure that their report remains objective. Unfortunately, it prevents a broader audience, non-specialized in forestry laws, to understand and use their findings. In addition, many reports are written in highly technical language, making it difficult for most readers to understand the relative importance of a given observation. For instance, a report may state that a given company harvested without a permit, but there is a significant difference between an instance in which a company harvested timber without obtaining a permit at all, or if it harvested the timber two weeks before the permit was officially granted.
To help OTP users understand the relative importance - or significance - of an observation on illegal logging or forest governance problem, WRI and its partners have developed a range of severity parameters for each observation category in collaboration with independent monitors. This severity approach makes it possible to group observations depending on their significance/impact on the natural resource, biodiversity, workers and economy. The parameters define 3 levels of severity: high, medium and low for each sub-category of observations.
For instance, for the subcategory “Harvesting without required permit”, the severity parameters are defined as follows:
What does the severity level of an observation mean?
The severity of an observation on illegal logging or governance problem refers to the relative significance in comparison to other observations of the same infraction. For instance, illegally cutting 500 trees is defined as more damaging than illegally cutting 10 trees. The OTP severity parameters do not compare severity of different categories or subcategory of illegal activity. In other words, infraction types are given equal weight.
How are severity parameters determined?
The parameters were determined through 4 basic steps.
The severity parameters are not static and will be updated periodically based on feedback from OTP users including forest companies and governments, further consultations with IMs, lessons learned from the deployment and geographic expansion of the OTP, and policy developments in producer and demand side countries.
What are the limitations of severity parameters?
Defining severity parameters is not an exact science and the process does not attempt to definitively determine the severity of a given observation. This system is designed to help OTP users interpret information and OTP users are encouraged to interpret the severity of an observation based on their own criteria.
It is worth highlighting that the thresholds used to define the severity categories may lead to under- or overestimation of severity. For example, the threshold for severe overcutting is 500 trees. As a result, an observation on the overharvesting of 499 trees would fall into the moderate category. OTP users are therefore encouraged to consider not only the severity parameter classification but also the details before coming to a conclusion about the importance of a given observation.
What is the geographic coverage of severity parameters?
The first stage of OTP development focuses on the Congo Basin. As a result, the severity parameters are based primarily on consultations with IMs in the region and assessments of their reports. The current goal is to develop severity parameters that can be applied globally because such a system would help users compare information from different producer countries. As the OTP expands geographically, severity parameters at the regional or country level will be developed accordingly.
The OTP compiles information on timber producers from three different sources. All registered timber producers, permit boundaries and contracts to harvest are pulled directly from the forest administration’s database. Producer companies voluntarily disclose information according to a standard list of compliance documents and related metrics. NGOs and other qualified actors complement and verify information provided by operators.
Beginning with the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the OTP will expand to other major timber exporting countries as resources and opportunities allow. We are planning the expansion of our model to Gabon, Cameroon, and the CAR next.
The Risk Tool, hosted by WRI, provides an overview of relevant legislations and regulations as well as information about most commonly traded species, in order to help users ask informed questions about where their forest products come from and what issues a buyer might encounter. Users can find country-specific information about relevant laws and local contacts who might be able to help answer more questions.
SPOTT is a free online platform supporting sustainable production and trade. SPOTT scores tropical forestry and palm oil companies annually against over 130 environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators to benchmark their progress over time.
See also this article that talks about how SPOTT integrates data from the OTP: SPOTT and the Open Timber Portal partner to promote transparency in the tropical timber sector to tackle illegal logging
The online timber trade portal serves as a central point where visitors can find information on the industry and legislation of timber-producing countries, which are mainly located in tropical areas. The platform enables operators to make their own risk analysis and exercise due diligence, on a case-by-case basis, by presenting facts such as forestry sector data, legislative frameworks, VPA processes, etc.
1. Where does the data come from?
The OTP compiles information about forest operations from three sources: government agencies, logging companies and third-party organizations.
(1) Government agencies in producer countries provide details on forest concessions, such as geographic boundaries, forest concession names, initial year of exploitation, as well as the names of the registered logging companies that operate in forest concessions within their country. This is largely drawn from data compiled in the Forest Atlases.
(2) All of the registered logging companies operating in producer countries are listed on the OTP website. These companies are then able to voluntarily register their profile and upload key documents to demonstrate compliance with the legal framework of the country that they operate in.
(3) Third-party organizations include independent monitors (IMs), both mandated or nonmandated, as well as other civil society groups and nongovernment organizations at the local and international level. These organizations are able to upload observations of suspected noncompliance, provided that they are supported by evidence. In some cases, observations are validated by an official reading committee. See our section below on IMs to find out more about how they operate.
(4) Data from Global Forest Watch on forest cover and tree cover loss over time as well as on protected areas. This data also includes weekly Global Land Analysis and Discover (GLAD) tree cover loss alerts.
2. How accurate is the data in the OTP?
For the data submitted by companies, the OTP has put in place a two-step validation process, where an initial review of the submissions is conducted to ensure that the content is legible, of sufficient quality and categorized correctly. This is followed by a secondary review to verify the content and the quality of the information provided. Company documents are also reviewed by external experts periodically.
For the data submitted by third-party organizations, there are two levels of quality control. First, WRI staff and local partners from IM organizations review the completion of the submission (forms must include evidence and correct legal references). This is followed by a secondary review, where the content of the submission is reviewed, and comments to improve the quality of the submission are sent back to the IM organization.
WRI and its partners strive to keep the website up to date as much as possible, however we cannot guarantee that the data on the site is up to date at the time of access.
WRI is not liable for any inaccuracies with the data available on the Open Timber Portal. To find out more, please take a look at our Terms of Service.
3. How is the transparency ranking calculated?
To make data on the OTP easily accessible and understandable for users, companies are ranked on the basis of their level of voluntary disclosure. For each producer, a transparency score is calculated based on the percentage of documents shared on the OTP out of the total number of documents requested.
4. What’s an “IM” or independent monitor and what do they do?
An independent monitor (“IM”) is a non-governmental organization that analyzes and reports on forest governance and management, as well as the harvest and transport of timber. The FLEGT VPA process creates an explicit role for IMs to oversee implementation of the agreement and verify compliance in the producer country.
Usually, when mandated, the IM works under an agreement with the host country government. Its findings are in many countries validated by a reading committee that includes donors and other stakeholders, typically chaired by the national forest authority.
Within the OTP, mandated IMs can enter instances of suspected noncompliance by companies and/or by government actors. These observations will need to be validated by the reading committee before they can be published on the OTP website.
Nonmandated IMs can be NGOs and civil society organizations that work on forest protection and community rights but do not have an official agreement with the government of the country to conduct missions to monitor the implementation of the FLEGT VPAs.
Observations from nonmandated IMs can be uploaded by these organizations directly onto the OTP website. These are then reviewed for validation by WRI staff and local partners.
5. How is the severity of observations/infractions calculated?
To assist OTP users in understanding the relative importance or severity of an observation on illegal logging or a forest governance problem, WRI and its partners have developed severity parameters for each observation category in collaboration with IMs.
Take a look at the Assessing severity of observations section, which will provide an in-depth explanation on how the severity parameters used were defined.
6. How often is the data updated?
Companies and third-party organizations are regularly uploading new information on the OTP.
7. What are GLAD alerts?
While the data from Global Forest Watch displays tree cover loss over time, GLAD alerts provide information on tree clearings as they happen. Alerts are updated weekly and allow for near-real time data on tree cover loss. For more information on the GLAD alerts, go to https://glad.geog.umd.edu/.
8. What is the difference between the OTP and other tools that support due diligence (SPOTT, Timber Trade Portal, NEPCON Sourcing Hub and BVRio)?
In collaboration with the organizations that have created these tools, we have developed a joint flyer that provides a brief description of each of these tools and their geographical focus. You can also access these directly from our Tools and Resources section.
9. Will the OTP expand to other countries?
The OTP will eventually be adaptable to and deployed in any country that manages natural forest areas through long-term forest management concessions. The OTP was launched in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and expanded to Gabon, Cameroon and the CAR. It will expand to other major timber exporting countries as resources and opportunities allow.
Observations of suspected infractions submitted by third-party organizations, however, are not limited to any specific country and users will be able to access data from around the globe.
10. Can I download the data from the OTP website?
The OTP does not allow users to download company profiles or observations from third-party organizations, however, all documents published on the website can be individually accessed and downloaded.
1. Who can I contact for more information or questions about the website?
If you have any questions about the information in the Open Timber Portal, please contact us at opentimberportal@wri.org
2. Where can I find out more about how to use the OTP?
We have created an introduction video that walks you through the entire OTP website and explains all of the different functionalities. You can watch it here:
- Skip to 2:52 for an introduction on the transparency ranking pages
- Skip to 5:22 to learn more about how producer profiles work
- Skip to 12:11 for a walk-through of the observations uploaded by third-party organizations
3. Do I need an account to use to OTP?
The OTP is free to use, and users do not need to create an account in order to access the content. Only producers and third-party organizations who wish to contribute data will need to create an account.
4. How do I register as a producer in the OTP website and access my account?
If you are producer operating in a country covered in the OTP and your company is not currently listed on the website, you will need to register as a producer on the site. Go to our New Producer page and follow the instructions to register as a producer.
Once the company is listed on the OTP website, you will be able to create an account by going to the Sign up page.
For more detailed information on how to set up an account, upload documents and any associated inquiries, please take a look at our Tutorial factsheet for producers.
5. I am a producer. How will I know which documents I will need to upload?
For each country that the producer operates in, you will see a list of country-specific documents that can be uploaded onto the OTP website. In addition, producers will need to indicate the start date and expected expiration date of the document.
6. I’m a third-party organization that wants to upload information on the OTP website. How do I proceed?
Any third-party organization that wants to contribute to the OTP will need to submit a registration request through the platform. Go to our Login page, select ‘Register’ and complete the form.
Once the request has been approved by the OTP team, you will be able to log in on the same webpage with the username and password you selected in the registration form.
For more detailed information on how to set up an account, creating observations and any associated inquiries, please take a look at our Tutorial factsheet for independent monitors.
7. I am producer and I have an issue with the content listed on my profile.
All the content listed on your company will have been verified by OTP staff, however, if you have any additional issues with the content that is appearing on your company profile, please contact us at opentimberportal@wri.org.
This introductory video walks users through the entire Open Timber Portal and explains how to use all of the platform's functionalities.