The three new projects with a €3 million funding from the European Union (EU), which aim to assist Vietnam and neighboring countries in their combat against rampant illegal logging and promote the sustainable use of forests, kicked off earlier this week.

The Vietnamese government and the EU announced the onset of formal negotiations for a Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) in August 2010.

The agreement aims to ensure the legality of local timber products entering the EU market, while helping to maintain and expand the export of timber and timber products from local companies.

The three new projects are also part of the activities to boost the negotiation of the agreement, which is expected to wrap up later this year.