Illegal logging

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Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of national laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the extraction of timber in excess of agreed limits (see Box 1).

Illegalities may also occur during transport, such as illegal processing and export; fraudulent declaration to customs; and the avoidance of taxes and other charges. Much destructive logging is however legal and that legal and illegal logging are often linked. Therefore addressing only illegally sourced timber is not sufficient. It is thought that logging is a growing concern to the growth of the rainforest's inhabitants. Many animals that live in the canopy of the rainforest will become extinct or endangered because of this illegal logging.

Contents

[edit] The problem

Box 1. Logging in national parks: the case of Korindo (Indonesia)
In March 2004, Greenpeace carried out a series of actions against a cargo ship transporting timber from the Indonesian company Korindo, which was being imported into France, UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Korindo is a company proven to be using illegal timber from the last rainforests of Indonesia. In May 2003, an Indonesian Government investigation confirmed that Korindo was receiving illegal timber from notorious timber barons known to obtain timber from an orang-utan refuge – the Tanjung Puting National Park.[1] Tanjung Puting National Park is a 4,000 square kilometre conservation area of global importance. It is recognised as a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations and forms the largest protected area of swamp forest in South-East Asia.

Illegal logging is a pervasive problem, causing enormous damage to forests, to local communities and to the economies of producer countries. Despite the economic importance of trade in timber and forest products, major international timber consumer countries, such as the EU, have no legal means to halt the import of illegally sourced forest products.[2]

[edit] The scale and the consequences of the problem

Some estimates suggest that the illegal timber trade may comprise over a tenth of the total global timber trade, worth more than $150 billion a year.[3] Although exact figures are difficult to obtain, given the illegal nature of the activity, reliable estimates indicate that more than half of all logging activities in particularly vulnerable regions – the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, the Russian Federation and some of the Baltic states – is illegal.[4]

Illegal logging is not only a problem in the South or Russia. In Estonia illegal logging is estimated to reach 50%[5] and in Latvia rates of 15 to 20% have been documented, while anecdotal evidence points towards 25%[6] of logging being illegal. Illegal logging contributes to deforestation, causes loss of biodiversity and undermines the rule of law. These illegal activities undermine responsible forest management, encourage corruption and tax evasion and reduce the income of the producer countries, further limiting the resources producer countries can invest in sustainable development (see Box 2). Illegal logging has serious economic and social implications for the poor and disadvantaged. Furthermore, the illegal trade of forest resources undermines international security, and is frequently associated with corruption, money laundering, organised crime, human rights abuses and, in some cases, violent conflict. In the forestry sector, cheap imports of illegal timber and forest products, together with the non-compliance of some economic players with basic social and environmental standards, destabilise international markets. This unfair competition affects those European companies, especially the small and medium sized companies that are behaving responsibly and ready to play by fair rules.

Actually, though Mainland China is primarily responsible for the increase in illegal logging which we have seen in recent years. For example, Global Timber, a UK-based non profit, makes the following estimates for the proportion of exported timber from each listed country to China that is sourced from illegal logging:

Brazil: 80%
Burma: >90%
Cambodia: 100%
Cameroon: 80%
Congo (Brazzaville): 90%
Equatorial Guinea: 90%
Gabon: 80%
Indonesia (timber): 90%
Indonesia (pulp and paper): 90%
Malaysia: 50%
Papua New Guinea: 90%
Russia (timber): 60%
Russia (pulp and paper): 10%
Solomon Islands: 90%

Of course, US and EU demand for imported furniture and paper products from China contributes to much of this activity.

[edit] Facts on Illegal Logging

Box 2. Loss of revenue to governments of producer countries
The scale of illegal logging represents a major loss of revenue to many countries and can lead to widespread associated environmental damage. A senate committee in the Philippines estimated that the country lost as much as US$1.8bn per year during the 1980s.[7] The Indonesian government estimated in 2002 that costs related to illegal logging are US$3bn each year.[8] The World Bank[9] estimates that illegal logging costs timber-producing countries between 10 and 15 billion euros per year. This compares with 10 billion euros disbursed as EC aid in 2002.[10]
  • A joint UK-Indonesian study of the timber industry in Indonesia in 1998 suggested that about 40% of throughout was illegal, with a value in excess of $365 million.[11] More recent estimates, comparing legal harvesting against known domestic consumption plus exports, suggest that 88% of logging in the country is illegal in some way.[12] Malaysia is the key transit country for illegal wood products from Indonesia.[13]
  • In Brazil, 80% of logging in the Amazon violates government controls.[14] At the core of illegal logging is widespread corruption. Often referred to as ‘green gold’, mahogany can fetch over US$1,600 m-3. Illegal mahogany opens the door for illegal logging of other species, and for widespread exploitation of the Brazilian Amazon. Recent Greenpeace investigations in the Brazilian state of Pará reveal just how deeply rooted the problem remains. No reliable legal chain of custody exists for mahogany, and the key players in its trade are ruthless.[15]
  • The World Bank estimates that 80% of logging operations are illegal in Bolivia and 42% in Colombia,[16] 10 while in Peru, illegal logging equals 80% of all activities.[17]
  • Research carried out by WWF International [18] in 2002 shows that in Africa, rates of illegal logging vary from 50% for Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea to 70% in Gabon and 80% in Liberia – where revenues from the timber industry also fuelled the civil war.
  • WWF estimates that illegal logging in Russia is at least 20%, reaching up to 50% in its far eastern regions.[19]

[edit] Political processes

[edit] African FLEG (AFLEG)

The AFLEG Ministerial Conference was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon in October 2003. The meeting drew together ministers and stakeholders from Africa, Europe and North America to consider how partnerships between producers and consumers, donors, civil society and the private sector could potentially address illegal forest exploitation and associated trade in Africa.

The Conference was the second regional FLEG, following East Asia, and resulted in the endorsement of a Ministerial Declaration and Action Plan for AFLEG, as well as a broad range of informal implementation initiatives.

[edit] East Asia FLEG

The East Asia FLEG Ministerial Conference took place in Bali in September 2001. The Conference brought together nearly 150 participants from 20 countries, representing government, international organizations, NGOs, and the private sector. The event was co-hosted by the World Bank and the Government of Indonesia.

The meeting included detailed technical discussions of forest law enforcement in relation to governance, forest policy and forest management as well as ministerial engagement.

The Conference's primary aims were to share analysis on forest law enforcement; explore priority issues of forest law enforcement, including illegal logging in the East Asia region, among senior officials from forest and related ministries, NGOs and industry representatives; and commit to action at the national and regional level.

[edit] European and North Asia FLEG

The ENA FLEG Ministerial Conference was held in Russia in November 2005. In May 2004, the Russian Federation announced its intention to host the Europe and North Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (ENA FLEG) process, supported by the World Bank. A preparatory conference was held in Moscow in June 2005, and the final Ministerial conference in St. Petersburg on 22-25 November 2005.

The conference brought together nearly 300 participants representing 43 governments, the private sector, civil society and international organisations. It agreed the St. Petersburg Declaration on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance in Europe and North Asia. The Declaration includes an indicative list of actions, intended to serve as a general framework for possible actions to be undertaken by governments as well as civil society.

The conference took place as the UK prepared to pass the G8 Presidency to Russia. As Valery Roshchupkin, Head of the Federal Forestry Agency of the Russian Federation, confirmed, illegal logging would be of special importance for Russia as the G8 President and for the next G8 Summit, also scheduled to be held in St. Petersburg.

[edit] EU FLEGT Action Plan

In May 2003 the European Commission presented an action plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). This marked the beginning of a long process by which the EU aims to develop and implement measures to address illegal logging and related trade.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Environmental Investigation Agency (2000) Illegal Logging in Tanjung Puting National Park See: http://www.eia-international.org ; Greenpeace (2003) Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia’s timber barons. See:www.saveordelete.com ; Greenpeace (2004) Protect Life on Earth Today : Tanjung Putting National Park under siege. see: http://www.saveordelete.com
  2. ^ With the exception of CITES which is only partly applicable.
  3. ^ OECD (2001)OECD Environmental Outlook. p 122.
  4. ^ For further details on illegal logging, see: Duncan Brack and Gavin Hayman (2001) Intergovernmental Actions on Illegal Logging. Royal Institute of International Affairs; Duncan Brack, Gavin Hayman and Kevin Gray (2002) Controlling the International Trade in Illegally Logged Timber and Wood Products. Royal Institute of International Affairs. Both available at http://www.riia.org/sustainabledevelopment
  5. ^ Estonian Green Movement (2004) Illegal forestry and Estonian timber exports
  6. ^ WWF Latvia (2003) The features of illegal logging and related trade in Baltic Sea region; WWF International (2002) The Timber Footprint of the G8 and China
  7. ^ Debra Callister (1992) Illegal tropical timber trade: Asia Pacific. TRAFFIC International
  8. ^ ICG (2001) Natural Resources and Law Enforcement in Indonesia
  9. ^ World Bank (2002) Revised Forest Strategy’’
  10. ^ Annual report 2003 from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the EC Development Policy and the implementation of External Assistance in 2002
  11. ^ Indonesia-UK Tropical Forestry Management Programme (1999) Illegal Logging in Indonesia. ITFMP Report No. EC/99/03
  12. ^ Greenpeace (2003) Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia’s timber barons. See http://www.saveordelete.com
  13. ^ Environmental Investigation Agency and Telepak (2004) Profiting from Plunder: How Malaysia Smuggles Endangered Wood.
  14. ^ WWF International (2002) The Timber Footprint of the G8 and China
  15. ^ Greenpeace (2001) Partners in Mahogany Crime: Amazon at the mercy of gentlemen’s agreements.
  16. ^ World Bank (2004) Forest Law Enforcement
  17. ^ The Peruvian Environmental Law Society (2003) Case Study on the Development and Implementation of Guidelines for the Control of Illegal Logging with a view to Sustainable Forest Management in Peru.
  18. ^ WWF International (2002) The Timber Footprint of the G8 and China.
  19. ^ WWF press release, 30 March 2004.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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America

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