Illegal
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August 19, 2016
US government confirms illegal timber imports from Peru
In a report released yesterday by the U.S. government, Peruvian timber imported to the United States in January 2015 has been identified as largely illegally sourced, offering the latest example of illicit timber trafficking from Peru to the United States. As reported by the EIA,... Continue reading
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December 21, 2022
Belarus timber flows to EU circumventing sanctions via Central Asia
Belarus is circumventing EU sanctions by exporting its timber to EU countries using false documents claiming that the wood comes from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, a Belarusian investigative website revealed on Tuesday (20 December). In March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine via Belarusian territory, the European Union banned imports of some Belarusian wood. To circumvent the sanctions, Belarus timber kept arriving to the usual clients with false documents, according to the investigative website “Belarusian Investigative Centre” (BIC). The scheme should have raised suspicion in the EU because it has led to a 74-fold increase of wood exports from Kazakhstan and 18,000-fold surge from Kyrgyzstan in 2022, compared to the previous year. According to the investigation, which was made in cooperation with Siena (Lithuania), Kloop (Kyrgyzstan), Vlast (Kazakhstan),... Continue reading
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January 23, 2019
Investigation reveals how illegally harvested timber is ‘greenwashed’ in China
An investigation conducted by Sixth Tone, a group of Chinese researchers and journalists linked to the Shanghai United Media Group, tried to check if the FSC certified products in China are following procedures. The investigation, conducted in 2018 and recently published, took into consideration 9 timber factories in different parts of China, with inspections and interviews. According to Sixth Tone, in 7 cases, it was possible to verify and confirm illegal timber lots, for example belonging to types at risk of extinction, with an uncertified provenance. China imports timber from countries considered at risk such as Congo and Papua New Guinea. In those low-level contexts, high levels of corruption, worrying track record with regard to violations of human rights and workers, low level of governance and implementation of environmental regulations, deforestation and illegal... Continue reading
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August 19, 2016
US government confirms illegal timber imports from Peru
In a report released yesterday by the U.S. government, Peruvian timber imported to the United States in January 2015 has been identified as largely illegally sourced, offering the latest example of illicit timber trafficking from Peru to the United States. As reported by the EIA,... Continue reading
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September 5, 2016
Mozambique government proposes total ban on log exports
The government in Mozambique has proposed a total ban on all the exports of unprocessed logs, no matter of the tree species they come from. Xavier Sakambuera, the national director of forests in the Ministry of Land, Environment and Rural Development, announced that a bill has already been drafted and deposited with the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, as reported by Club of Mozambique. This would be the first total ban, despite several attempts in the past to prohibit the logs exports from particular species of hardwoods. This ban is most likely to meet opposition from logging interests, who want to destroy the forests in Mozambique as to sell unprocessed wood to foreign buyers, particularly from China. Since all the log exports would be illegal, once the ban is turned into law, the forest wardens and customs inspectors will no longer have to determine what... Continue reading
