Ecuador : Indicators

Before an applicant can carry out forest operations, he/she requires a forest use licence. Despite the fact that certain documentation is requested for this procedure, priority is given to documents certifying the legal tenure of the land in which the logging programme is to be carried out. A more detailed verification process is not specified.

The lack of exhaustive verification is a major weakness of the current system, which has led to the generation of inconsistencies (for example, by allowing forest offenders to access confiscated timber), and prevents the consolidation of a suitable forest management model. However, the Ministry of Environment is working on building the Forest Administration System and the Single System of Environmental Information (SUIA), which are expected to be able to help reduce the gap in information and consequently improve the verification process. It is worth emphasising that the demand for additional requirements when it comes to accessing a forest use licence must be led by the MAE.