Fauna & Flora International - acts to conserve threatened species and eco-systems worldwide - is the world’s oldest international conservation organisation.

CBD- Convention on Biological Diversity – agreed at the Rio Earth Summit is a programme for forest bio diversity

CITES - The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement aimed at regulating the trade in wild life. Species can be listed on one of three appendices to the treaty which impose levels of restriction on international trade. Although there have been attempts by environmentalists and some governments to list a range of over exploited timber species on CITES, there are currently just 19 timber trees covered by the agreement, of which only a few are major timbers. Producer countries frequently oppose moves to list species to protect their logging interests, although some appreciate the help it can provide in controlling trade in over-exploited species.

COC - Chain of Custody is the audit trail from the tree and saw mill to the end user via an FSC/PEFC accredited company. COC verifies that the wood in a product is from a certified forest or other controlled source. As with forests, the Chain of Custody is audited by an independent FSC accredited Certification Body. Every link in the supply chain from forest to the final product needs its own Chain of Custody certificate. Each certificate has a unique number and this number must appear on product labels or invoices. This allows you to identify the supplier and check their certification status.

Controlled Sources - excludes timber that is from: illegal logging; areas where traditional rights are violated; areas where high conservation values are threatened; forests that have been converted to plantations or non-forest use; genetically modified trees.

CSA - Canadian Standards Association – Canada

DEFRA - The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

EIA - The Environmental Investigation Agency

FLEGT - Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Action Plan-this allows the EU to enter into a bilateral partnership agreements with developing countries and to provide them with assistance to tackle illegal logging. This assistance will include help to establish systems to identify legally produced timber products and licence them for export. The FLEGT Regulation empowers EU customs to deny access to the single market of unlicensed timber products, once licensing systems are in place. Formal talks on partnerships with the EU are with Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana and Cameroon.

Friends of the Earth - is the UK’s most influential environmental campaigning organisation

FSC - Forest Stewardship Council – Global, FSC is the only scheme that fulfils all the requirements for a credible forest certification scheme, and is the only one recommended by Fauna and Flora International and Friends of Earth.

• FSC 100%- All the timber in the product comes from an FSC-certified forest
• FSC Recycled- all the timber in the product is post-consumer reclaimed material.
• FSC Mixed Sources- the timber in the product is a mixture of some/all of the following:
• Timber from a FSC-certified forest
• Post-Consumer reclaimed material-Reclaimed timber is GOOD
• Controlled Sources

G8 Nations - Programme for Forests- 1997 the G8 nations declared a special programme for forests, which was further elaborated at their 1998 summit in Birmingham. The programme included a call to member governments to take action to combat illegal logging. Within the G8 programme, the UK government has been designated to take the lead on this issue

IUCN Red List - Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna – the “official” list of globally threatened species

IPF - Intergovernmental Panel on Forests & IFF – Inter governmental

ITTO - International Tropical Timber Organisation is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1983 with the aim of providing a framework for consultation among producer and consumer member countries on all aspects of world timber economy

PEFC - Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification – Europe

SFI - Sustainable Forestry Initiative - USA & Canada

The Forest Principles (1992) - a set of non-legally binding principles for sustainable forest management are the outcome of the Rio Earth Summit

The Global Trees Campaign - was developed by Fauna & Flora International and the United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre - aims to save the most threatened tree species and habitats where they grow through information, conservation and wise use.

TTAP- Timber Trade Action Plan – European timber trade federations, in partnership with the Tropical Forest Trust are working to help timber suppliers in Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Indonesia and Malaysia, Bolivia, Brazil, China and Guyana to eliminate illegal timber from the supply chain

UNFF - United Nations Forum on Forests - a new permanent body created at the end of IFF, charged with facilitating and monitoring the implementation of the IPF’s proposals for action

WWF - The Worldwide Fund for Nature