Course objectives

The course objectives are to help:

• Expand the knowledge of the target audiences on issues related to legal and sustainable supply chains of tropical wood and forest products;
• Assist governments in building enabling institutional and policy frameworks for promoting legal and sustainable supply chains;
• Enable business conditions for actors who operate in such chains.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe major aspects of sustainable forest management, the techniques of reduced impact logging, demonstrating its economic and environmental benefits and the importance of forest landscape restoration, and its political context;
• Describe different types of innovative technology for chain of custody verification, the role of modern technology for information management system, the importance of coding for trade and market transparency;
• Discuss the key international timber and timber products trade policies, including EU Timber Regulation, Revised Lacey Act, Clean Wood Act, Trade regulation under CITES, and others;
• Assess markets and access to markets, including trade statistics of major timber products, innovative marketing system;
• Understand tariff and non-tariff measures in international timber and timber products.

Target audience

This LSSC online learning course is designed to provide significant insights for forestry decision-makers, forestry practitioners, forestry field instructors, forestry students and other stakeholders related to sustainable forest management.

Course format

Course participants view video lectures and case studies and gain access to diverse but focused reading materials. In the lectures, each of which spans 10–15 minutes, instructors explain course content using visual aids such as figures, tables and photographs. Reading materials consist of relevant texts accompanied by flow charts, figures, tables and other elements. The video case studies show practical aspects of sustainable timber supply chains, including alongside with the main explanations through the recordings of video-lecture in a video-class format. Participants can also discuss issues with experts and peers in a group discussion forum designed to help participants in understanding the topics addressed in the course and for sharing information. Additional reading materials are indicated for each topic. Participants can finish the course flexibly in their own pace. In the end, participants need to pass the quizzes with 70% correct answers and eventually will get the certificate of completion.

Sofia R. Hirakuri has over 25 years of professional experience in Forest Law-related areas and public policy in Brazil and abroad (Latin America, North America and Asia). She has worked on areas including the legal aspects of international trade in timber and forest products, sustainable forest management, forest planning, forest certification, forest law enforcement, environmental law, international environmental law and its implementation. She has published numerous articles on forest law enforcement and sustainable forest management; the book entitled “Law Can Save the Forest?” has been widely read by experts of the forest area. She has been working as consultant and project coordinator in policy development areas of the forest sector, including legal and institutional aspects, forestry strategic plan, conservation and sustainable use of forest resources with private companies, governmental agencies and international organizations, such as IDB, FAO, ITTO, UNFF and others. She is currently a senior consultant at the Consulting Division of STCP in the areas related to planning, economics and market, strategic studies and policies.
Hirakuri earned Bachelor degree in Law from State University of Londrina (UEL), Brazil; Specialization in Public Law, Hokkaido University, Japan; LL.M. degree in Environmental Law from American University, Washington College of Law, USA; PhD. degree in Law from Washington University in St. Louis, School of Law, USA; Post-doctorate at United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, Japan.