Guyana Timber Legality Assurance System
The Legality Definition (LD) of the VPA is based on the relevant national legal and regulatory framework (legal requirements) in force.
Legally produced timber, also referred to as legal timber, is defined in the VPA as follows: “…timber products acquired, harvested, produced, processed, transported, and traded in accordance with the legislations in force in Guyana, as set out in Annex II and other relevant provisions of this Agreement; and, in the case of imported timber, it means timber products harvested, produced, processed, transported and exported in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of harvest and the procedures described in Annex V”.
Timber is considered ‘legal’ when its origin and subsequent harvesting, transportation, trade, processing and export activities comply with Guyana’s laws and regulations for domestically harvested timber. It must also abide by the laws and regulations of the country of harvest for imported timber.
According to the Forest Act 2009 of Guyana, no person should import or transport any forest produce within Guyana obtained or imported from any country outside of Guyana unlawfully. Concerning imported timber and timber products, the importer’s responsibility is to prove that imported forest produce has been obtained legally and exported legally from its country of harvest.
Forest sector operators (FSOs) must comply with the legal requirements for timber harvesting to the sale of timber products. These requirements are necessary to prove compliance with the law and for the granting of a FLEGT Licence.
The LD outlines how FSOs ought to comply with the national legal requirements through the listing of verifiers, principles, criteria and indicators.
