FLEGT stands for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade - the European Union's response to the global problem of illegal logging and the trade in associated timber products.

Illegal logging and the associated trade in illegal timber is responsible for vast environmental damage in developing countries, and impoverishes rural communities that depend on forest products for a living. It also costs governments in developing countries an estimated Euro 10 - 15 billion every year in lost revenue.

Illegal logging was first raised as a serious internal problem in 1998 in the G8 foreign ministers' 'Action Programme on Forests'. In April 2002, the European Commission hosted an international workshop to discuss how the EU should combat illegal logging. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), held in Johannesburg in the same year, the European Commisison set out a strong commitment to combat illegal logging and the associated trade in illegally harvested timber, To build on this commitment, the FLEGT Action Plan was adopted.