Implemented in seven countries, the ENPI FLEG Program aims to improve forest law enforcement and governance, while promoting the sustainable use of forest resources, through actions at both national and regional level.

Regional programming unites many of the national activities of the Program, ensuring consistent legal and sustainable forest management practices are adopted throughout the region, as well as promoting the exchange of best practices which plays a fundamental role in ensuring that the issues surrounding illegal logging can be more easily addressed in-country.

While illegal logging and poor governance can be a country-specific problem, it does not respect national boundaries, especially in the ENPI countries where illegal logging, corruption and a weak rule of law ensure that the problems spill across poorly secured borders. Coupled with the fact that markets for illegally logged wood exist throughout the wider region, if one country within the region is not governed by a strong forest code, thus weakening the rule of law and damaging the livelihoods of the local inhabitants, that country could become an easily accessible market for much of the regions illegal wood.

Regional activities therefore further enhance the national results of the Program, as well as supporting national actions.

In order to present logical and potentially long-lasting recommendations, understanding the issues from a regional point of view is required. Different problems, jurisdictions and dynamics are all at play regionally, yet they are all inter-connected simply by the fact that to ensure sustainable forest management within each of the 7 implementing countries, it requires the region as a whole to adopt this approach. Transboundary cooperation is therefore essential to the success of the ENPI FLEG Program and is a key factor in our regional activities.
 
Some representative examples of regional activities are:

• Economic and social impact assessment of inefficient, unsustainable forest practices and illegal logging;
• Analysis of current forest legislation to identify shortcomings and loopholes, so that summary recommendations for amendments on sustainable forest management to regulatory frameworks can be made;
• Public awareness and media campaigns to increase understanding of the issues and true cost and impact;
• General knowledge and information sharing, including best practice, initiatives to combat illegal trade and alternative fuel technologies.