심각도 매개변수는 무엇이며 왜 중요한가요? 지금까지 대부분의 IM 보고서는 일반적인 위반 상황이나 법적 틀과 관련하여 관찰 문서의 상대적 중요성에 대한 정보를 제공하지 않았습니다. 이는 특히 보고서의 객관성을 유지하기 위해 조사 결과에 대한 해석을 제한하는 의무적 IM 보고서에서 그렇습니다. 불행히도 이는 산림법을 제대로 알지 못하는 많은 사람들이 문서 결과를 이해하고 사용하는 것을 제한합니다. 또한 다수의 보고서는 매우 기술적 인 용어로 작성되어 있어 독자 대부분이 특정 관찰에 대한 상대적 중요성을 이해하기 어렵습니다. 예를 들어 어떤 보고서에서 특정 회사가 허가없이 벌목했음을 언급할 때, 회사가 어떤 허가도 없이 벌목한 경우와 법적 허가를 받기 2주 전에 벌목한 경우에는 큰 차이가 있습니다. OTP 사용자가 불법 벌채나 산림 거버넌스 문제에 대한 관찰 문서의 상대적 중요성 또는 의미를 이해할 수 있도록 WRI와 파트너는 독립된 감독기관과 협력하여 각 관찰 범주에 대한 다양한 심각도 매개변수를 개발했습니다. 이와 같은 심각도 접근 방식으로 천연 자원, 생물다양성, 근로자 및 경제에 대한 중요성 또는 영향에 따라 관찰을 분류할 수 있습니다. 매개변수는 각 하위 범주의 관측 문서에 대해 높음, 중간, 낮음, 총 세 단계의 심각도로 정의합니다. 예를 들어, 하위 범주 "필수 허가를 받지 않은 벌목 행위"의 경우 심각도 매개변수는 다음과 같이 정의됩니다. 관찰 문서의 심각도는 무엇을 의미합니까? 불법 벌채 또는 거버넌스 문제에 대한 관찰 문서의 심각도는 동일한 규정 위반을 다룬 다른 관찰 문서와 비교하는 것에서 상대적 중요성을 나타냅니다. 예를 들어, 500 그루의 나무를 불법적으로 자르는 것은 10 그루의 나무를 불법적으로 자르는 것보다 더 해로운 것으로 정의됩니다. OTP 심각도 매개변수는 각기 다른 불법 활동 범주 또는 하위범주의 심각도로 비교하지 않습니다. 즉, 규정 위반 유형은 동일하게 취급됩니다. 심각도 매개 변수는 어떻게 결정됩니까? 매개 변수는 4가지 기본 단계를 통해 결정되었습니다. 심각도 매개변수는 고정된 것이 아니며 산림 기업과 정부를 포함한 OTP 사용자의 피드백, IM과의 추가 자문, OTP 정착 및 지리적 확장으로 얻은 교훈, 생산자 및 수요국의 정책 개발을 기반으로 주기적으로 업데이트됩니다. 심각도 매개 변수의 한계는 무엇입니까? 기준이 아니며 그 과정에서 주어진 관측치의 심각도를 단정하려고 하지 않습니다. 이 시스템은 OTP 사용자가 정보를 해석할 수 있도록 도울 목적으로 설계되었으며 OTP 사용자는 각자의 기준에 따라 관측의 심각도를 해석할 수 있습니다. 심각도 범주를 정의하는데 사용된 임계값이 심각도를 과소 평가하거나 또는 과대 평가할 수 있습니다. 예를 들어 심각한 수준의 과다 벌채에 대한 임계값은 500 그루입니다. 결과적으로 499 그루의 나무를 과도하게 벌채한 사항에 대한 관찰 문서는 보통 범주에 속합니다. 따라서 OTP 사용자는 주어진 관찰 문서의 중요성에 대한 결론을 내리기 전에 심각도 매개변수의 분류 뿐 아니라 세부 사항도 고려해야 합니다. 심각도 매개 변수의 지리적 적용 범위는 어떻게 됩니까? OTP 개발의 첫 단계는 콩고 분지입니다. 결과적으로 심각도 매개변수는 주로 해당 지역 IM과의 상담 및 보고서 평가에 주로 기반합니다. 최근 목표는 전 세계에 적용 가능한 심각도 매개변수를 개발하는 것입니다. 이는 사용자가 다른 생산 국가의 정보를 비교하는 데 도움이 될 것입니다. OTP가 지리적으로 확장되면 지역 또는 국가 수준에서의 심각도 매개변수도 그에 맞춰 개발될 수 있을 것입니다.
OTP는 각기 다른 공급 기관 세 곳에서 목재 생산자에 관한 정보를 수집합니다. 등록된 모든 목재 생산 기업, 정부 허가 경계, 그리고 벌채 계약을 직접 산림 행정기관의 데이터베이스에서 직접 가져옵니다. 생산 기업은 이행 입증 기본 문서 목록에 따라 정보를 자발적으로 공개합니다. NGO와 그 외 검증된 활동가들은 기업이 제출한 문서를 보완하고 검증합니다.
OTP는 자원과 기회가 주어진다면 콩고 공화국과 콩고 민주 공화국에서 시작해 주요 목재 수출국으로 확장할 예정입니다. 가봉, 카메룬, 중앙아프리카 공화국으로 우리의 모델을 확장시켜나갈 계획입니다.
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. Currently, the OTP contains data about forest operations in the DRC, Congo and Cameroon. Data on forest operations in Gabon and CAR will be released on the OTP by the end of 2020. 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.