1. Group 6 Impact Monitoring Session Panel: Paolo Cerutti (chair), Julia Falconer, Jo Van Brusselen Notes: Jo Van Brusselen, Clare Brogan Feedback to Plenary

2. VPA impact monitoring (VPAIM) Is a requirement in VPA VPAIM will feed discussion in JICs /JMRM To inform all partners on progress towards expected changes/aims with VPA implementation VPAIM development is starting only now, with some countries No intention to have one set of agreed indicators to be implemented for all countries

3. Be clear on target audiences and objectives Recognize different objectives of EU and partners Make solid links to theory of change Address both positive and negative impacts Systems should be cost-effective and credible Periodicity: Baseline study followed periodically every 3-5 y

4. A wealth of methods and data are available already from forest sector and other sectors When possible: use best practices, available data VPA related: IMM, IA, IM, JIC reports etc. External: eg. PRS, WB, OECD, FAO, conventions PIA, SBIA, REDD monitoring

5. VPAIM: nothing is fixed yet No fixed priority impact areas No fixed indicators Not clear who will do the monitoring Will most likely be a joint effort with many implicit and explicit contributors. Share your ideas or ask clarification now or later (EC Julia Falconer / EFI Jo Van Brusselen)

7. Options for Priority Impact Areas 1.Institutional effectiveness 2.Accountability 3.Illegal logging 4.Tenure and access 5.Forest management 6.Livelihoods and poverty 7.Civil society effectiveness 8.Economic development 9.Domestic market development

8. Monitoring system Description Third party audits of LAS Audits are mandatory component of the LAS. The independent audit is expected to identify systemic failures and provide appropriate recommendations for addressing those failures. This is to help improve effectiveness of the system and to make it credible nationally and internationally. Government monitoring Regular monitoring conducted by government agencies to oversee forest operations Legality verification systems Regular checks of routine controls that provides evidence of legal compliance with the legality definition. May be conducted by government service or third parties, including civil society. Multi-stakeholder VPA monitoring committees Oversight for VPA implementation. May include government, private sector companies and civil society. Independent monitoring (observation) by civil society of forest operations Some countries have engaged independent observers to check compliance of field operations (e.g. Congo, Cameroon) VPA impact monitoring Impacts to be agreed after signing VPA. Impact monitoring will require baseline data and agreement on periodicity of regular data collection upon which to assess impacts.