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Risk Score
96.9
Risk Profile
Higher Risk
Conflict State
Yes
Import Regulation
No
Latest Updates Click for latest news from Syria
August 20, 2023
Threats to forests in Syria amid uncontrolled logging

After more than twelve years of ongoing conflict, Syria is facing a severe economic crisis that has seen its local currency lose over 99 percent of its value. The majority of Syrians now live below the poverty line.

A report released in March 2023 by PAX for Peace about the growing phenomenon of tree cutting across all provinces in Syria. statea that “rising fuel prices, coupled with mass displacement, are the main drivers of widespread deforestation in Syria. Civilians are cutting down trees for cooking and heating.”

The report also added that “there are clear indications that armed groups also use illegal logging and selling wood as a source of income.”

More...
August 20, 2023
Illegal logging turns Syria’s forests barren

On a riverbank in war-ravaged Syria’s north, felling has reduced what was once a lush forest to dispersed trees and decimated trunks poking out from dry, crumbly soil. Twelve years of conflict that led to a spike in illegal logging, along with the effects of climate change and other factors, have eroded Syria’s greenery.

More...
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Trending
June 9, 2024
Dipteryx project: the algorithm that alerts high risks of illegality of Amazonian timber
An extensive year-long investigation by the OjoPúblico team - for which an algorithm was developed to weight the risks of illegal timber trade - identifies that 55% of the timber traded by forest concessionaires in the Peruvian Amazon (those who manage forest parcels) have high and very high risk indicators of being illegal.   More...
May 29, 2024
Singapore Issues Environmental Crimes Money Laundering National Risk Assessment
oday, Singapore published an Environmental Crimes Money Laundering (ML) National Risk Assessment (NRA) which identifies the key threats and vulnerabilities in environmental crimes ML that Singapore is exposed to, and outlines mitigation measures which government agencies, financial institutions (“FIs”) and Designated Non-Financial Businesses and Professionals (“DNFBPs”) can develop to address the risks.   More...
March 12, 2024
A framework for tracing timber following the Ukraine invasion
Scientists are using tech to correctly trace the flow of timbers entering the EU from Russia and Belarus. Developing the world’s largest reference database for Eastern European timber species (Betula, Fagus, Pinus, Quercus) tailored to sanctioned products; scientists can correctly predict, with 82% accuracy, “false claims” coming from Russia as well as harvest locations “within 180 to 230 km of the actual location.” This new science will be revolutionary in detecting false claims about the origin of products from countries at high risk of illegal deforestation.   More...
February 15, 2024
Florida conspirators sentenced to nearly five years in prison each for evading over $42 million in duties when illegally importing and selling plywood
A Florida husband and wife, Noel and Kelsy Hernandez Quintana were both sentenced yesterday to 57 months in prison and more than $42 million in fines for illegally importing and selling between $25 million and $65 million worth of plywood products in violation of the Lacey Act. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. “In this case, the defendants undermined U.S. policy by evading legally mandated customs duties on plywood manufactured in China using Russian timber. Moreover, by doing so, the defendants covered up their criminal scheme to violate federal environmental law, while also unjustly enriching themselves. This case shows the importance of prosecuting customs and environmental offenses.”   More...
November 28, 2023
Benchmarking 53 of the world’s biggest companies on their deforestation policies
To assess the efforts of some of the world’s largest companies to eliminate deforestation from their supply chain at a foundational level, Ceres found: Most companies assessed have a no-deforestation policy, but only 18 companies have a company-wide, no-deforestation policy that covers all the commodities subject to new European Union regulation. Only four have policies that cover their full supply chains and all their sourcing regions, exposing them to reputational and market risks. Most companies have specified a target date by when they intend to fully implement their no-deforestation policies. But only eight of these company policies are ambitious enough to meet the recommended 2025 no-deforestation target date. Only five include a cutoff date that prohibits commodities from being produced on land that was deforested after 2020. A 2020 cutoff date is necessary for compliance with the new EU regulations and removes the incentive for continued deforestation.   More...
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November 27, 2023
Cargill adds indirect suppliers to anti-deforestation pledge and explands geographic scope
Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay included in 2025 commitment All suppliers of soy, corn, wheat, and cotton to be monitored. The world’s largest agricultural commodities trader won’t buy any major crops from deforested areas in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay from 2025, it said Monday in a statement. The pledge includes for the first time supplies from third parties — the hardest ones to trace. Cargill is building on last year’s pledge to source deforestation-free soy supplies from the Amazon, Cerrado and Gran Chaco biomes by adding corn, wheat and cotton to its goal and expanding its geographic scope. ... Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to kee   More...
November 28, 2023
Malaysia, Indonesia seek allies in EU deforestation row
Malaysia and Indonesia want to bring other Southeast Asian countries on their side amid ongoing disputes with the European Union over environmental and deforestation regulations that are set to take effect in late 2024, with the two nations worried about the regulations' impact on the region's agriculture exports.   More...
November 16, 2023
French banks accused of money laundering linked to Amazon deforestation
A coalition of NGOs has filed a criminal complaint against several French banks for allegedly financing meat companies driving deforestation in Brazil. An analysis of JBS and Marfrig slaughterhouses in Pará and Mato Grosso found that more than 50% and 40% of suppliers, respectively, showed evidence of irregularities, including deforestation and intrusion into Indigenous lands and protected forests.   More...
August 22, 2023
The secret to Colombia’s drop in deforestation? Armed groups
In July, when Colombia announced that deforestation had dropped to the lowest level in nearly a decade, the news was hailed as a victory for left-wing President Gustavo Petro. But experts say there is another reason for the dramatic drop: Armed rebel groups have taken it upon themselves to ban illegal logging.   More...
June 23, 2023
NY Governor Should Sign Tropical Deforestation Bill Legislation on State Supply Chains Approved by Bipartisan Majority in NY Assembly
The New York State Assembly took a crucial step towards approving the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act on Wednesday, a bill intended to ensure that companies contracting with the state are not contributing to tropical deforestation and human rights abuses overseas. New York is the third largest economy among US states. Each year, it provides millions of meals to students in 1,800 public schools, uses large amounts of paper in its administration and in communications to residents, and builds public infrastructure requiring wood products. The bill would require that contractors for these and other services not source any soy, beef, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, wood pulp, paper, and wood products from land where deforestation or forest degradation occurred after January 1st, 2023.   More...
May 30, 2023
Brazilian banks are denying credit to meatpackers that deal in beef illegally raised in the Amazon rainforest
Brazilian banks have committed to deny credit to meatpackers that buy cattle from illegally deforested areas. The sustainability standard released Tuesday by Febraban, Brazil’s bank federation, requires slaughterhouses to adopt a tracking system to monitor its entire supply chain in the Amazon region and Maranhao state by December 2025. The requirement applies to both direct and indirect suppliers.   More...
May 26, 2023
Cross River governor-elect urged to tackle deforestation
Environmental and ecology group, We The People, has charged the governor-elect of Cross River State, Senator Prince Bassey Otu, to take the issue of deforestation seriously, urging him to read the riot act to encroachers of the state’s forest reserves..   More...
May 23, 2023
New Justice Department-led task force pledges global crackdown on illegal timber trade
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced a new interagency task force to bolster efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute illegal trafficking in timber linked to environmental and other crimes. The working group, dubbed TIMBER (Timber Interdiction Membership Board and Enforcement Resource), brings together several government departments — Justice, Agriculture, Interior and Homeland Security — and the U.S. Council on Transnational Organized Crime’s Strategic Division. Its goal, according to U.S. officials, is to combat deforestation and disrupt illegal wood smuggling through global supply chains, in part by strengthening cooperation between the U.S. and foreign governments.   More...
May 18, 2023
Teetering on the traceability tipping point
Food and agriculture companies are experiencing an uptick in interest in how they engage their supply chains to future-proof their business and protect nature. This scrutiny is forcing companies to address their negative impacts and transform into regenerative and just models In order to better understand how this changing landscape is driving supply chain traceability at food and agriculture companies, the author spoke to Montana Stevenson, a responsible sourcing consultant with previous experience at Danone, as well as Katelyn Thacker and Ashley Wallace from sustainable supply chains solution provider BanQu.   More...
May 16, 2023
The EU just passed a historic anti-deforestation law. Now it needs to go after the banks
The green light from EU national governments means that by end of next year, imports of palm oil, cattle, soy, coffee, cocoa, timber and rubber will have to comply with strict traceability obligations and evidence must show that they have not been grown on deforested or degraded land. It’s the first law of its kind in the world, and a historic blueprint for the approaches that other markets should look at to help preserve the world’s forests - which are essential in the fight against climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. Now the first milestone towards deforestation-free supply chains has been achieved, it’s time to ensure that the European Union can fully end its role in forest destruction – which means cutting the money pipeline to deforesting businesses. This is the final piece of the puzzle.   More...
April 25, 2023
Groundbreaking New York Climate Bill Passes Senate
ALBANY, NY – The New York Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act (S.4859/A.5682) passed in the New York State Senate today as part of a package of environmental bills and will next head to the State Assembly. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Liz Krueger (D-28) and Asm. Kenneth Zebrowski (D-96), builds on New York’s climate and justice leadership and is based on the state’s decades-long success of implementing common-sense procurement reforms. The legislation ensures that state and local government procurement does not fund climate destruction, specifically tropical deforestation, tropical primary forest degradation and associated abuses of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local tropical communities.   More...
April 7, 2023
Global Canopy’s Forest 500 Annual Report 2023
201 (40%) of the companies and financial institutions with the most exposure to, and influence on tropical deforestation still haven’t set a single policy on deforestation. For nine years, Global Canopy’s Forest 500 has tracked the policies and performance of the 350 most influential companies and 150 financial institutions linked to deforestation in their supply chains and investments. Every two years, this data is ensure the most up to date companies and financial institutions included. The data highlights those that are taking action and those that are ignoring the problem altogether.   More...
April 7, 2023
How A.I. and DNA Are Unlocking the Mysteries of Global Supply Chains
Firms are turning to advanced technologies to help answer a surprisingly tricky question: Where do products really come from?   More...
March 27, 2023
Liberia: Permit Shows FDA Boss Approved Illegal Timber Exports
Commenting at an international forest and climate conference in January, the Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) Mike Doryen blamed loggers and villagers for certain illegal forestry activities. “These communities are undermining our efforts to deal with violations,” Doryen told delegates at the event. “People go in the communities and take money from other people to harvest and transport timber to town, harvesting double board-foot outside what is required by law. It is illegal logging,” Doryen added. He meant compact, squared woods, smuggled in containers, which has rocked the logging industry to its core. The industry calls it “kpokolo.” Ironically, an export permit the FDA awarded to a company a year back, obtained by The DayLight, suggests Doryen himself is an architect of the illegal trade.   More...
March 21, 2023
Forestry permit audit in DR Congo poses threat to several industry tycoons
DRC Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba is aiming to take back illegal forestry licences in order to ban logging and to be able to sell carbon credits. Several operators who entered the sector under President Kabila risk losing their titles and, locally, her initiative is being opposed.   More...
March 4, 2023
Teak for yachts strips exotic forest, boosts harsh regime. It’s shipped here despite U.S. ban
Teak from Myanmar (formerly called Burma) is coveted by yacht owners and builders for its pliancy and water-resistance, but it has a dark side: The country of 54 million is run by a military junta that has so far killed at least 3,000 and arrested more than 19,000 civilians, according to human rights groups. The nation has descended into civil war.   More...
February 20, 2023
Cattle Found Responsible For The Deforestation Of The Amazon In Colombia, Says Report
A recent study states that the deterioration of the Colombian Amazon over the past 40 years has been caused by cattle ranching rather than cocaine. Research reveals that in 2018, the quantity of forest removed for the cultivation of coca, the main component of cocaine, was just 1/60th of that used for livestock. However, previous administrations have cited environmental concerns to justify stepping up their assault on the green shrub. The study's conclusions support conservationists who have long argued that Colombia's approach to protecting the Amazon, which is frequently focused on halting coca cultivation, is misplaced, The Guardian reported.   More...
February 20, 2023
Companies, big banks are still lagging on deforestation regulations: report
Global Canopy’s annual Forest 500 report reviews the top 350 most influential companies and 150 financial institutions exposed to deforestation risk in their supply chains and investments. While many entities have developed some policies on deforestation, they’re not keeping up with the best practices needed for improving forest-risk supply chains, the report said. However, a new deforestation supply chain law in the European Union could force many of the largest companies and financial institutions to implement stricter regulations moving forward.   More...
February 21, 2023
Bolivia has a soy deforestation problem. It’s worse than previously thought.
Recently released satellite data from Bolivia shows that soy plantations were responsible for over 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) of deforestation between 2001 and 2021. Nearly a quarter of the deforestation was caused by Mennonite communities, who purchased the land legally in hopes of expanding their simple, rural lifestyles. This better understanding of Mennonite activity in Bolivia comes from a new data set from Global Forest Watch, which combined soy plantation mapping with forest loss imagery to determine soy-driven deforestation.   More...
February 16, 2023
Malaysian timber exports hold steady, but EU regulation may hinder growth
MALAYSIA’S timber export contributed RM23.25 billion to the country’s economy as of November last year, despite the drop in demand from Europe according to Malaysian Timber Industry Board’s (MTIB) report. The country’s timber industry still has a few obstacles to overcome, mainly with the requirements in certification of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) that may limit the export-ing of timber products into multiple markets.   More...
February 9, 2023
Indonesia, Malaysia to send palm oil envoys to EU over deforestation law
JAKARTA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's biggest palm oil producers, plan to send envoys to the European Union to discuss the impact of the bloc's new deforestation law on their palm oil sectors, ministers from the Southeast Asian countries said on Thursday.   More...
February 2, 2023
Military places restive areas of Myanmar under martial law
Martial law was declared in several areas a day after authorities announced that a state of emergency has been extended throughout the country which is wracked by violence. State-run MRTV television broadcast an announcement by the State Administration Council (SAC), imposing martial law in 37 townships across eight of the country’s 14 Regions and States.   More...
February 1, 2023
Changing circumstances turn ‘sustainable communities’ into deforestation drivers: Study
Subsistence communities can drive forest loss to meet their basic needs when external pressures, poverty and demand for natural resources increase, says a new study unveiling triggers that turn livelihoods from sustainable into deforestation drivers. The impact of subsistence communities on forest loss has not been quantified to its true extent, but their impact is still minimal compared to that of industry, researchers say. Deforestation tends to occur through shifts in agriculture practices to meet market demands and intensified wood collecting for charcoal to meet increasing energy needs. About 90% of people globally living in extreme poverty, often subsistence communities, rely on forests for at least part of their livelihoods—making them the first ones impacted by forest loss.   More...
January 30, 2023
Indigenous communities threatened as deforestation rises in Nicaraguan reserves
Nicaragua’s Bosawás and Indio Maíz biosphere reserves both experienced deforestation at the hands of illegal loggers, miners and cattle ranchers last year. Deforestation of the country’s largest primary forests has been a violent, ugly process for Indigenous communities, who were granted land titles and self-governance in the area in the 1980s but don’t have the resources to protect themselves. Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders believe the situation will only get worse moving into 2023, as gold mining accelerates and the government cracks down on opponents.   More...
January 30, 2023
Germany pledges millions to help Brazil protect Amazon rainforest
Germany has pledged tens of millions of dollars to help Brazil defend the Amazon rainforest, a critical global ecosystem that experienced years of devastation under former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. During a news conference in Brasilia on Monday, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze announced that Berlin would make $38m available for the Amazon Fund, an international mechanism largely funded by Norway that aims to prevent deforestation.   More...
January 17, 2023
How much of Bangladesh’s protected forests are really protected?
A move last year by the Bangladesh government to erase protections for a swath of reserved forest and award it to the country’s soccer federation for a training facility garnered outrage — but is only one example of how protected forests across the country continue to be degraded. The country has 51 protected areas that hold a combined 815,607 hectares (2.02 million acres) of forest meant to preserve biodiversity and wildlife, but state-sponsored development projects have emerged as one of the key threats to these conservation initiatives. In some protected areas, such as Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary, it’s firewood collection and farming by local communities that are driving much of the deforestation, prompting calls for the government to come up with alternative fuel and livelihood sources that leave the forests standing. The government has implemented a co-management approach to conserve forests while providing sustainable benefits to communities, but experts say this needs to be reassessed as deforestation rates are higher inside protected areas than in the surrounding areas where it’s implemented.   More...
January 16, 2023
Asian demand for timber to intensify pressure on Central Africa’s forests
As the global demand for wood soars and considering Central Africa’s large reserves, there is a likelihood that timber export, notably to China and other Asian countries, will ramp up pressure on the sub-region’s 200 million hectares of dense humid forests; over half of which are unclassified, experts have posited in a new report. In the last 10 years, timber exports to Europe from Central Africa have more than halved, falling from 1.4 billion USD to 600 million USD in value, according the report titled Congo Basin Forests – State of the Forests 2021 and produced by Central Africa Forest Observatory (OFAC). Much of Central Africa’s 4.2 million tonnes of wood over this period has gone to markets in Asia.   More...
January 6, 2023
Tanzania: Local timber industry all set for major boost
Arusha. The timber industry is set for a major boost with an increased number of wood processing industries. Although this has come after the 2016 ban on timber harvesting, for export among others, full involvement of the private sector has been a blessing. This emerged here yesterday during a meeting convened by the ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism with the private timber dealers.   More...
January 6, 2023
Congo: Ban on export of timber in log form comes into force
The Republic of Congo is suspending the export of timber in the form of logs. The measure came into force on Sunday 1 January 2023 at the port of Pointe-Noire. Congo joins Gabon, which has been applying this sustainability approach to forest management since 2010. Cameroon, on the other hand, continues to export logs, to the detriment of environmentalists and international agreements on forest preservation.   More...
December 23, 2022
Report exposes illegal deforestation in Brazilian soy supply chains
In Brazil, SEI and partners harnessed the work of the Trase initiative to help governments, companies and investors understand the previously unknown links between soy farming and illegal deforestation. This work is helping to improve the sustainability of the soy supply chain in Brazil and Europe. Over one third of all tropical deforestation in the world in 2019 took place in Brazil, a rate equivalent to the total deforestation of the other top five countries combined. Almost none of the deforestation in Brazil was authorized by the official environmental agencies and was therefore likely to be illegal. Aside from the impact on climate change and biodiversity loss, illegal deforestation can have social impacts through increased land conflict and violence, as well as economic impacts through fines imposed on companies found to be linked to illegal activities.   More...
December 21, 2022
Half of tropical forestland cleared for agriculture isn’t put to use, research shows
Agriculture is the primary driver of tropical deforestation, accounting for 90% or more of forest loss, yet researchers have found that only about half of total land cleared is put into active agricultural production. The gap between what’s cleared and what’s used for agriculture shows that “we have to fix agriculture and we have to fix deforestation,” according to one of the researchers. Tropical deforestation is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, but the research shows there is no simple fix, as humanity’s increasing food needs coincide with the need for conservation.   More...
December 20, 2022
Traders Are Sneaking Banned Russian and Belarusian Wood Into the EU By Pretending It’s From Central Asia
Not long after imposing sanctions on wood imports from Russia and Belarus, Europe saw an influx of wood supposedly coming from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Authorities say sanctions-busters are increasingly mislabeling wood as Central Asian so they can keep bringing it in to the EU.   More...
December 20, 2022
Brazil’s Pantanal is at risk of collapse, scientists say
Though the Pantanal is 93% privately owned, this vast Brazilian tropical wetland remains a stronghold for jaguars and untold other species, and connects animals with the Amazon, Cerrado and other biomes. A confluence of human activities in Brazil and worldwide — including deforestation and climate change — are heating and drying this watery landscape, threatening the entire ecosystem with drought, wildfires and habitat loss. Now, a plan to dredge and straighten the Paraguay River that feeds the Pantanal could serve as the death knell for this vast wetland ecosystem. There’s hope that president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who campaigned on an environmental platform, will initiate stewardship that stops Pantanal deforestation and the waterway project, helping curb greenhouse gas emissions.   More...
December 17, 2022
How China’s Appetite for Rosewood Fuels Illegal Logging in Ghana
MOLE NATIONAL PARK, Ghana—Mbaaba Kaper stood in the middle of the illegal timber trafficking warehouse where he’d worked as a watchman for nearly six years. Grasping the edge of a graying trunk that reached his shoulders, Kaper said with a smile, “This one is rosewood.” He was accomplished at identifying rosewood—the world’s most threatened hardwood. Rosewood exports have been banned in Ghana since 2019, but the vast Chinese-run trafficking network in which Kaper worked in Yipala, northern Ghana, was shut down by Ghanaian police only nine months before we visited in June. The immense trees logged during its operation remained on the ground as far as the eye could see.   More...
December 16, 2022
Climate boss Carney's firm linked with deforestation
UN Climate envoy and ex-Bank of England boss Mark Carney's firm sold farms in Brazil linked to deforestation claims. The move comes despite his call on owners to fix rather than sell climate-damaging assets. Canadian giant Brookfield deforested 9,000 hectares of the important Cerrado savanna region, according to analysis by campaign group Global Witness. Brookfield said it decided to sell several years ago and it's working on ways to retire damaging investments. Before the end of his term as Governor of the Bank of England, the Canadian banker Mark Carney began to establish a new role as one of the world's leading advocates for action to tackle climate change.   More...
December 13, 2022
Some of the worst palm oil deforesters in 2022 are supplying major international companies
Some of the companies committing the worst deforestation for palm oil have been entering the supply chains of major international companies with ‘no deforestation’ policies – including consumer brands such as Colgate-Palmolive, Nestle and Unilever – in a clear breach of those standards. This is highly concerning and shows that the policies and procedures that companies have in place to ensure no deforestation are insufficient, given that palm oil coming from forest clearing has still been entering their supply chains and, no doubt, European markets and supermarket products. With the EU having just agreed the text for a new regulation to ensure that only products free from deforestation are sold in its marketplaces, companies will need to up their game to ensure they are in compliance.   More...
December 13, 2022
‘Means of survival’: Tanzania’s booming charcoal trade drives unchecked deforestation
Large swathes of Ruhoi forest reserve in eastern Tanzania now lay bare, the ground in some sections dry and scorched, covered with stumps and brittle and fallen trees. The forest is being cut down at an alarming rate to meet the growing demand for charcoal in the nearby city of Dar es Salaam. As a result of high gas prices, about 90% of Tanzanian households now use charcoal or firewood to cook, which is fuelling rapid deforestation across the country.   More...
December 5, 2022
Rice, integral to Madagascar, may be hastening the decline of its unique biodiversity; here is how
Rice, the main food crop of Madagascar, could be hastening the loss of biodiversity in the fourth-largest island of the world, according to two exhaustive studies published in the Science journal December 2, 2022. The cultivation of rice on the island, especially using shifting agriculture, is causing deforestation and subsequent biodiversity loss, according to the research papers. The papers also urged that collection and analysis of data on Madagascar’s remarkable biota must continue and accelerate “if we are is to safeguard this unique and highly threatened subset of Earth’s biodiversity”. Madagascar, classified as a ‘Least Developed Country’ by the United Nations, has been in the throes of upheaval in the past few years.   More...
November 21, 2022
India gets rules for export of Rosewood products relaxed during CITES meet in Panama, move to help artisans and exporters
NEW DELHI: In what could be a relief for handicraft exporters, India has got rules for export of timber-based products made of Shisham or North India Rosewood (Dalbergia sissoo) eased under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) during its ongoing meeting in Panama.   More...
November 18, 2022
Brazil, Indonesia, And The D.R.C. Work to Stop Deforestation
Brazil, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have the largest area of rainforests in the world. On November 14th, at the G20 summit in Bali, the three countries agreed to create the Rainforest Protection Pact, which will work to stop deforestation and regrow forests. The countries plan to ask for funding to help with monitoring and preventing deforestation, although it is uncertain who will provide this funding.   More...
November 15, 2022
Forests & Finance: Certification for deforesters, and repression for an evicted community
A rule change by the Forest Stewardship Council means companies like Hevéa Sudcam, which cleared nearly 60,000 hectares (148,000 acres) of forest in Cameroon since 2011, are now eligible for the world’s leading sustainability certification. Two years after announcing an imminent ban on exports of raw timber, governments in the Congo Basin have again delayed its implementation, this time indefinitely, citing the need for more time to prepare for it. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has called on Uganda to end its repression of the Indigenous Benet people, who are fighting for recognition and access to ancestral lands they were evicted from in 1993 for the establishment of a national park.   More...
November 7, 2022
COP27: Major food firms detail plans to eliminate deforestation by 2025
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The world's largest food trading companies detailed a plan on Monday to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains for soy, beef and palm oil by 2025, a step seen as essential to averting catastrophic climate change. Destruction of forests - like the Amazon rainforest to make way for farm fields and ranches or Indonesian jungle for palm oil - emits huge amounts of greenhouse gas each year, helping to drive climate change. The roadmap, launched at the COP27 United Nations climate summit in Egypt, comprises 14 firms including Cargill, Bunge (BG.N), Archer Daniels Midland , Louis Dreyfus Company, Brazil's JBS (JBSS3.SA) and China's COFCO International.   More...
November 7, 2022
COP27: More than 25 countries band together to keep deforestation pledges made in Glasgow
More than 25 countries at COP27 launched a group on Monday to hold each other accountable for a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. They also announced billions of dollars in additional financing for the effort. The first meeting of the Forest and Climate Leaders' Partnership, chaired by the United States and Ghana, takes place a year after more than 140 leaders promised at COP26 to end deforestation by the end of the decade. The new group - which includes Japan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and others - accounts for roughly 35 per cent of the world's forests and aims to meet twice a year to track progress. Notable omissions from the group are Brazil with its Amazon rainforest and the Democratic Republic of Congo whose vast forests are home to endangered wildlife including gorillas. Progress since has been patchy, with only a few countries instituting more aggressive policies on deforestation and financing.   More...
November 3, 2022
Honduran forest governance agreement brings cautious hope
A timber trade agreement that aims to ensure Honduras exports only legally harvested timber products to the European Union is the first of its kind to go into force in the Americas. Under the framework, a timber legality assurance system currently under development will be the backbone of licenses for the export of legal timber and timber products. Indigenous and agroforestry groups that took part in negotiations leading up to the agreement say they hope the deal will spur action to address illegal logging and land grabs affecting forests and communities.   More...
November 2, 2022
Central Africa: Log export ban postponed indefinitely
In Central Africa, the ban on the export of logs will no longer take effect from 1 January 2022. The entry into force of this measure has been postponed to an unspecified date. This was the outcome of the 38th ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Union of Central Africa (UEAC), which ended on 28 October 2022 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. This is a retropalent for the countries of the Economic Union of Central Africa (UEAC). The entry into force of the ban on timber exports in the form of logs, which was set for 1 January 2023, has been postponed to a date yet to be determined.   More...
October 31, 2022
Bolsonaro's defeat is a climate turning point
The climate implications of Sunday's Brazilian runoff election, which will return leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to office, defeating the hard right Jair Bolsonaro, are set to reverberate worldwide. Why it matters: Bolsonaro has presided over the highest Amazon deforestation rates in 15 years, while Lula had enacted policies to protect the Amazon. The big picture: "Lula's victory means the Amazon stands a chance," said Manoela Machado of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, via WhatsApp message on Sunday night.   More...
October 28, 2022
Minister of Forest Economy of the Republic of Congo announces the end of log exports on January 1, 2023
This week, the Minister of Forest Economy of the Republic of Congo announced the end of log exports on January 1, 2023. Our association welcomes this decision, which will allow for the long-term advancement of the country's wood processing industry. Congo is now entering an important stage. 2023 will be a year of transition, not necessarily easy. For various reasons (covid, energy crisis, raw material crisis), companies have had difficulties over the past two years to prepare for this decision and to equip themselves with the new industrial means necessary to absorb the volumes of wood that are no longer exported. Discussions between the authorities and operators in the sector should take place in the short term and could facilitate the implementation of this policy, to clarify certain questions concerning, among other things, the export of heavy timber, or the future of commercial contracts currently in force .In Cameroon, discussions between the authorities and the GFBC seem to indicate the opening of a 3-year transition period.   More...
October 25, 2022
Myanmar blacklisted by financial watchdog to curb military junta's exploitation of natural resoruces
Since the military coup in Myanmar in 2021, EIA’s Forests campaigners have been investigating and exposing the illicit timber trade from Myanmar to international markets. Using these findings, we have engaged with law enforcement agencies and authorities tasked with implementing regulations to combat a trade that profits a clique of traders and enriches the military Junta and its supporters.   More...
October 19, 2022
Guinea: Government reintroduces logging, despite deforestation
Logging is resuming in Guinea after more than a year's ban, motivated by the need to preserve forest cover that has fallen victim to massive looting. The West African country is among the "bad pupils" of forest conservation. In Guinea, the resumption of logging has been authorized by the government. The measure comes after more than a year of prohibition motivated by uncontrolled logging in a country with rich biodiversity under attack by massive deforestation. After the Council of Ministers meeting of October 14, 2022, the Guinean government indicated that the exploitation of wood should be reserved for local use and should be regulated. The export of timber remains prohibited. The lifting of the ban on logging in Guinea is valid for one year, with the aim of “satisfying local wood needs,” the Council of Ministers said in its communiqué.   More...
October 18, 2022
Liberia: FDA Authorities Issuing Illegal Export Permits
“I have no idea what [those permits are],” said Gertrude Nyaley, the technical manager for the department. “What I know is that all woods and wood products must be exported [through] the LiberTrace system. Any shipment of timber or timber products outside the chain-of-custody system is illegal.” The Managing Director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) Mike Doryen and top managers of the agency award export permits to logging companies outside of the legal channel for the exportation of timber, documents obtained by The DayLight have revealed.   More...
October 14, 2022
Guinea Resumes Logging Despite Deforestation
Loggers in Guinea have been authorised to resume work after a year-long government ban to slow felling in the biodiverse country where deforestation is widespread. Tree felling will be restricted to local use and the export of timber remain banned, the council of ministers said in a statement issued Thursday night. The Environment Ministry had banned both the cutting and transport of wood throughout the country on June 14, 2021.   More...
October 6, 2022
Chicken in British supermarkets ‘linked to deforested Amazon’
A new investigation into industrial poultry farming in Brazil claims that chicken fed with corn and soya beans grown on deforested land or with unclear origins is ending up on British dinner plates and supermarket shelves.   More...
October 3, 2022
Europe buys ‘green fuel’ from Brazil but ignores deforestation connection
The European Union (EU) is importing Brazilian biodiesel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by its transportation industry. However, purchases of fuel made from beef tallow have been causing the opposite effect and contributing to global warming. This is revealed by Repórter Brasil’s latest investigation published in the report ‘The green fuel that deforests,’ with versions in English and Portuguese. By importing this type of biofuel – more than 10 million litres in the last two years – the EU ends up encouraging precisely the industry that contributes the most to emissions in Brazil: cattle.   More...
October 1, 2022
How Russian timber bypasses U.S. sanctions by way of Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — Russian birch wood has continued to flow to American consumers, disguised as Asian products, despite U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, a new report says.   More...
September 29, 2022
The Fixers: Top U.S. flooring retailers linked to Brazilian firm probed for corruption
New evidence uncovered by a yearlong investigation by Mongabay and Earthsight reveals the corrupt deals made by Brazil’s largest flooring exporter, Indusparquet, and its suppliers. The company was charged in two corruption lawsuits in Brazil over its use of public officials to gain access to timber supplies. Mongabay and Earthsight gained access to dozens of hours of wiretaps and video footage, along with thousands of pages of court records, revealing how the alleged bribery schemes were carried out. One of the court cases showed the company used a local official to secure the supply of bracatinga, a tree species native to the Atlantic Forest, for an unnamed “U.S. client.” We also found indications that the American client was Floor & Decor, America’s largest flooring retail chain, which was previously involved in illegal timber scandals with Indusparquet, while LL Flooring, fined for breaching the Lacey Act in 2013 over its illegal timber exports, is also an Indusparquet client.   More...
September 29, 2022
Jules Doret Ndongo discusses the effects of the log export ban in Cameroon
(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian Minister of Forest presented the government’s expectations following the common decision by Cemac countries to ban log exports in the region, starting from January 1st, 2023. In an interview with Cameroon Tribune, Jules Doret Ndongo (pictured) said this decision augurs very well for forestry production.   More...
September 22, 2022
Cameroon Commits to Fight Illegal Timber Exports
The objective of this project, which costs 6 million euros (about 4 billion CFA francs), is to ban illegal timber exports to international markets. Hervé Maidou, executive secretary of the Central African Forestry Commission (Comifac), initialed the document on behalf of the 11 countries in the sub-region involved in the project reports SBBC.   More...
September 13, 2022
Honduras and the European Union kickstart the implementation of their ambitious timber trade agreement aimed at curbing illegal and unsustainable logging
Tegucigalpa, 12 September 2022- Today, the first meeting of the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) that oversees the VPA took place in the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, getting the implementation of the VPA officially of the ground. Honduras is one of 15 countries that are implementing or negotiating a VPA with the EU. Honduras is the first country in Latin America where the VPA is in its implementation phase. The VPA is an international legally binding trade agreement set to address the root causes of illegal logging and promote the sustainable use of forests to ensure trade in legal timber and contribute to tackling deforestation, forest degradation, and climate change. The deal also includes strong commitments on the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples in relation to forests. Despite being a bilateral trade deal, the obligations apply to all Honduras’ export markets as well as its domestic market, thereby ensuring coverage of the entire forest sector and avoiding any circumventions.   More...
September 13, 2022
European Parliament votes for a strong EU Deforestation law
The voices of over 200,000 citizens that sent personalised messages to Members of the European Parliament asking them to protect forests have been heard. MEPs voted today for significant improvements of the proposal of the European Commission for a regulation on deforestation-free products. They agreed on including “other wooded land” in addition to forests, a higher number of checks on products, clearer definitions for important terms such as “forest degradation” and an enlarged product scope covering more than beef, soy, palm oil, rubber, timber, cacao and coffee.   More...
September 7, 2022
Timber exporters struggle to find new markets
HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Contrary to full orders at the beginning of the year, Vietnamese wood and wooden furniture enterprises are currently facing many difficulties due to the cancellation of orders by customers because of inflation in countries such as the US and the EU and the sharp increase in input material costs. In fact, Vietnam’s wood industry is seeing declining sales overseas. The export value in July was estimated at 1.41 billion USD, down 5.5% against June and down 1.6% year-on-year, according to a report of the General Department of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).   More...
September 1, 2022
EU–Honduras agreement to reduce illegal timber logging and associated trade enters into force
Today marks the entry into force of the EU–Honduras voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) on forest law enforcement, governance and trade (FLEGT). This trade agreement aims to provide a legally binding framework that ensures that all timber and relevant timber products imported from Honduras to the EU are legally sourced. It also aims to strengthen the enforcement of forest law, governance, accountability and transparency in Honduras.   More...
August 31, 2022
Venezuelan Amazon deforestation expands due to lawlessness, mining, fires: Reports
Multiple recent reports show that deforestation has greatly increased in Venezuela’s Amazonian states of Bolívar and Amazonas, largely due to illegal mining, expanded agriculture and fires. Venezuelan protected areas have been especially hard hit, with illegal incursions and major deforestation occurring inside Caura, Canaima and Yapacana national parks. Soaring deforestation rates are blamed partly on Colombian guerrillas operating illegally within Venezuela’s borders, an invasion that one report alleges has been supported by the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Forest loss has been well confirmed via satellite, while ground truthing has been obtained via firsthand accounts.   More...
August 31, 2022
Sowing deforestation: the forests that Mexico loses to agribusiness
Every year, at least 47,770 hectares of forests and jungles are cleared to establish agricultural fields. This forest cover is equivalent to the area occupied by Cozumel, one of the largest islands in Mexico. Territories that were previously inhabited by forest biodiversity are now dominated by monocultures such as avocado, soybeans, cane and oil palm. For decades, the clearing caused by agribusiness has been advancing without obstacles in various regions of the country. The engines that encourage it are, among others, government subsidies, a growing market, ignored environmental laws and, especially, disdain for forested lands.   More...
August 27, 2022
DOC not yet issued final decision for trade remedies on hardwood plywood
VIETNAM, August 27 - HÀ NỘI — The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has not yet issued the final determination on the imposition of anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain hardwood plywood products and veneered panels exported from Việt Nam. The Việt Nam Timber and Forest Products Association (VIFOREST) has confirmed that the DOC on April 15 extended the deadline to issue a final determination to October 17. The DOC initiated the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation on hardwood plywood from Việt Nam on June 17, 2020, to enforce the trade remedies measures on Chinese hardwood plywood.   More...
August 17, 2022
Bulgaria temporarily bans timber exports to third countries
Bulgaria will soon become another country to ban wood exports amid a shortage of wood products. Minister of Agriculture Yavor Gechev spoke about the upcoming temporary cessation of exports He said demand for timber has tripled recently as residents stock up on firewood for the winter. Export will be prohibited to third countries, the corresponding decision will be made in the near future. According to the minister, it will take at least a month to stabilize the market in the country.   More...
August 12, 2022
Illegal Logging in Africa and Its Security Implications
African countries are estimated to lose $17 billion to illegal logging each year. This is part of a global market with an economic value of $30 to $150 billion. The net profit from the illegal charcoal trade alone in Africa is estimated to be as much as $9 billion, “compared to the [$]2.65 billion worth of street value heroin and cocaine in the region.” High-value timber species are in immense global demand, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reporting that Africa’s share of rosewood exports to China rose from 40 percent in 2008 to 90 percent in 2018. Illegal logging also amplifies the effects of climate change by worsening deforestation and reducing biodiversity. This is especially apparent in the Congo Basin and peatlands, comprising one of the world’s largest carbon sinks. If disturbed, it could release the equivalent of 20 years of U.S. fossil fuel emissions.   More...
August 10, 2022
Hungarian government issues decree on firewood export ban
In response to the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and related European Union sanctions, Hungary’s government has issued a decree prohibiting energy sources, including firewood, from being taken out of the country, the minister of agriculture said on Tuesday. In the interest of energy security, the government can regulate and restrict the amount of firewood that can be taken abroad and exercise a pre-emptive right to its purchase, István Nagy said in a statement.   More...
August 3, 2022
Timber Trade Federation warns of birch plywood import from Far East
Timber Trade Federation (TTF) issued import warning for TTF-members on birch plywood from the Far East. “It has been nearly six months since Russia’s awful invasion of Ukraine, with few signs the conflict is going to abate anytime soon. Though grain exports began to leave Ukraine this week for the first time since the war began, international sanctions on Russia remain very much in place. Along with maritime sanctions and restrictions on Russian payments, the most significant sanction for our industry is the Russian timber import ban.   More...
July 19, 2022
Ukraine war hits global timber trade and adds to risks for forests
The war in Ukraine has caused serious disruption to the global timber trade and increased concerns over forest destruction as exports are interrupted, environmental protections are lifted and Kyiv redirects manpower away from fighting wildfires to the front line. International sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine have curbed supplies from Russia, the world’s largest exporter of softwood timber, and Belarus, while the conflict has severely hampered production in Ukraine.   More...
July 18, 2022
Push for post-Brexit trade deals may threaten UK pledges on deforestation
The UK government may be undermining its commitments to end deforestation overseas because of conflicts over trade policy, the Guardian has learned. A war of words is raging within the government over deforestation and trade, with green campaigners warning that a proposed policy could have dire consequences for efforts to stop illegal logging.   More...
July 18, 2022
Red-hot demand for ipê wood coincides with deforestation hubs in Brazil
Logging to meet demand for the tropical hardwood ipê coincides with hotspots of illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, the source of 96% of the ipê used worldwide, a report shows. So far this year, the total area of deforestation alerts in the top 20 ipê-harvesting municipalities cover an area an eighth the size of Rio de Janeiro. The logging industry says concessions authorized by the government deliver only 2% of the native wood that reaches the markets; the remainder is potentially tainted with illegality. Experts recommend sweeping measures to address the destruction of the Amazon for this coveted hardwood, including cracking down on deforestation and encouraging the use of alternative woods.   More...
July 12, 2022
Climate change: new rules for companies to stop EU-driven deforestation globally
EU consumption represents around 10% of global deforestation MEPs want the rules to also cover pigmeat, sheep and goats, poultry, maize, rubber, charcoal and printed paper products Human rights and the rights of indigenous people also to be respected An area larger than the EU was lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020   More...
July 13, 2022
CLIMATE Deforestation in Brazilian Amazon hits tragic record in 2022
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon broke all records during the first half of 2022. Satellite images taken between January and June show 1,500 square miles of forest destroyed. What makes the statistic more remarkable is that the forest cutting is taking place during the rainy season.   More...
July 11, 2022
UK supermarkets could still be buying meat linked to deforestation in Brazil, report suggests
Supermarkets and retailers have been asked to end relationships with soya traders who allegedly continue to buy soya from suppliers contributing to deforestation in Brazil. It comes as an investigation by campaign group Mighty Earth alleges that suppliers selling to leading soya traders have deforested at least 27,000 hectares (67,000 acres) across 10 farms in the Cerrado region of Brazil since August 2020. Some of the traders supply the UK, so soya harvested from this land could end up in meat supply chains for major supermarkets and retailers via animal feed given to farm animals.   More...
July 13, 2022
Tanzania launches mobilization campaign for alternative energy to stop deforestation
DAR ES SALAAM, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities on Monday launched a campaign aimed at mobilizing people to use alternative energy, including using gas for cooking, to stop deforestation. January Makamba, the Minister for Energy, said the first phase of the campaign will be done in 38 districts in 14 regions where poor families that use firewood for cooking will be given cooking gas cylinders free of charge.   More...
August 6, 2022
One commodity, seven countries – and multiple impacts for legal timber
In the wake of the UN Climate Change Summit in Glasgow in late 2021, a series of legal instruments aimed at tackling forest loss emerged in rapid succession. In October, the FOREST Act was introduced in the United States Senate and the House; a few days later, the UK Environment Act was passed; and on 17 November 2021, the European Commission proposed a new regulation aimed at minimizing EU-driven deforestation and forest degradation. Each of these rules will, once finalized and in its own detailed way, potentially alter global supply chains dealing with commodities (coffee, soy, timber etc.) linked to deforestation and forest degradation. Arguably, the precursor to most of these very welcome efforts is the European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan, a multi-year process initiated in 2003 to stop illegal logging and related timber trade. Because the process targets the entire supply chain – from production to processing to consumption – it rests on two different yet related instruments: one to prevent the illegal harvesting of timber in producing countries, and another to prevent its importation into consumer countries.   More...
July 6, 2022
Rubber used by leading European tire makers linked to forest loss in Africa: Report
A new report investigates deforestation and land rights abuse allegations in central and western Africa by companies that supply top European tire makers like Michelin and Continental. The EU is home to the world’s top tire manufacturers, even though it does not produce any natural rubber, and rubber imports are currently not subject to the European nations’ deforestation regulations. Between 2000 and 2020, 200 square miles of forested area was likely destroyed to make way for industrial rubber plantations in six African countries, which together exported $503 million worth of natural rubber to the EU in 2020. Emphasizing the role of the EU, the report describes how rubber plantation owning companies are also heavily financed by European banks like Rabobank, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank.   More...
July 1, 2022
World Bank approves $200 million IFC loan for industrial agriculture in Brazil’s Cerrado
A $200 million loan was granted to Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), an industrial soy and corn producer, for monoculture work in Brazil’s Cerrado, a grassland biome that has lost nearly 80% of its habitat cover. The loan was granted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organization of the World Bank that’s tasked with private sector finance in developing countries. Corn, soy and cattle ranching have been connected to a long list of human rights violations, as well as the acceleration of deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.   More...
July 4, 2022
Gov’t permanently revokes all timber export permits with new regulations
Banjul, The Gambia — With the endorsement of Cabinet chaired by His Excellency President Adama Barrow on Thursday and in line with Section 113 of the Forest Act, 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECNARR) wishes to inform the public of these new regulations effective immediately: All existing permits issued for the export/re-export of timber are permanently revoked; The export/re-export of timber is banned; The felling and/or import of Pterocarpuserinaceus locally known as KENO is banned; The felling of Cordyla Africana, locally known as Wulakonoduto, Dimba or wild mango is banned All timber cleared for import by the Department of Forestry, must have complete and duly certified import documentation including bills of laden showing proof of transport, as well as Customs entries for every border it crossed before entering The Gambia, to avoid its forfeiture to the State upon arrival; Timber for domestic use could be transported within The Gambia provided the carriers have authentic permits for household use duly issued by the Department of Forestry.   More...
June 22, 2022
Illegal timber trade persists in The Gambia's Upper River Region
On May 6, a large number of trees harvested for timber were found felled in Kundam, a village in the Tumana District in The Gambia's Upper River Region (URR). In this community forest reserve, it is illegal to fell trees without a license. Illegal logging with the involvement of powerful individuals or well-connected government officials has been in existence in The Gambia due to the widespread global market demand for forest products. The timber trade gained momentum in The Gambia around 2014 during the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh who was actively involved in the trade. As most of these timbers and logs are generated from the Northern part of Senegal, a portion was largely taken by the Cassamance separatists who were more or less supported by Jammeh at the time. They used the trade as a source of generating income to sponsor their operations through The Gambia, argues Martin Evans, an agroecologist at the United Kingdom's Coventry University. However, in 2017, when President Adama Barrow took over office as the new President of The Gambia from the dictatorial rule, he banned the timber trade following several findings that implicated his predecessor in the illegal activity.   More...
June 22, 2022
Stronger action needed to stop illegal logging
Proposed new legislation to reduce the risk that timber imported into Aotearoa New Zealand is sourced from illegal logging is a positive first step but it should go further, the Green Party says. The Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Bill passed its first reading in Parliament last night. The Bill will establish a legal framework intended to ensure that timber logged overseas and imported into Aotearoa New Zealand can be verified as being legally harvested.   More...
June 9, 2022
Cemac: States are preparing for the ban on the export of logs, supposed to come into force from January 2023
In view of the entry into force, from 1 January 2023, of the measure prohibiting the export of logs in the six CEMAC countries (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Chad, CAR and Equatorial Guinea), a workshop devoted to the validation of the regional guidelines for taxation and forest certification is currently being held in Libreville.   More...
June 15, 2022
A timber sale in Oregon tests Biden’s pledge to protect older trees
To Jerry Franklin, long-considered one of the foremost authorities on old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, this landscape of mature Douglas-fir and western hemlock is thriving and, most significantly, removing ever-more carbon from the atmosphere. That is not what the Forest Service sees. Too many trees in this corner of the Williamette National Forest are competing for water and sunlight, and some are dying, agency officials say. Now, the service is preparing to auction off these woodlands as early as next year as part of a timber sale, called Flat Country, that targets nearly 4,500 acres. Conservation groups that have analyzed the project say the vast majority of the lumber the agency intends to cut would come from stands of trees ranging in age from 80 to 150 years old.   More...
June 13, 2022
Overexploited and underprotected: Study urges action on Asia’s rosewoods
Rosewood is one of the world’s most trafficked wildlife products: The value of the trade, driven by demand from luxury furniture markets, exceeds that of ivory. Despite increased legal protections and export bans in recent years, illegal logging and cross-border trade continues to decimate rosewood populations across Asia, Africa and Latin America. A new study reveals the threats facing isolated and fragmented populations of three rosewood species in the Greater Mekong region and identifies where conservation and restoration action could have the most benefits. The study recommends a variety of approaches to protect the viability of remaining natural populations and their genetic diversity, including community forestry, smallholder planting initiatives, agroforestry, and storing seeds in gene banks.   More...
June 11, 2022
China's forays into Africa's forests & illegal trade could lead to environmental disaster
China’s forays into Africa’s huge forest resources and indulgence in illegal trade disregarding the environment could lead to a disaster of monumental proportions. A recent investigative report by international NGO Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has claimed that China’s illegal imports of rosewood has led to massive devastation of Malian forests besides serving as a conduit for ivory smuggling. Western African state of Mali has become one of China’s leading rosewood suppliers .   More...
June 9, 2022
Rosewood trade suspended in 16 African countries to stop looting
The decision is unprecedented and matches up with the urgency of the situation: On Wednesday, June 8, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) announced a complete ban on trade of West African rosewood in the 16 countries where it grows. The international organization claims it's the only option to protect Pterocarpus erinaceus – the scientific name for the species, which is prized for the manufacture of luxury furniture in China and Vietnam – from rapid extinction. Importing countries are required to reject any shipments that may be sent to them.   More...
June 9, 2022
Kazakhstan bans export of certain types of timber
NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM Kazakhstan has imposed ban on export of certain types of timber to prevent illegal re-export of timber from its territory, Kazinform learned from the Ministry of Finance State Revenue Committee. The ban was imposed by the order of Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development as of June 7, 2022 No322 «On some issues of regulation of the export types of timber» which entered into force on June 8, 2022.   More...
May 31, 2022
Government inaction sees 98% of deforestation alerts go unpunished in Brazil
A new study has found that Brazil’s environmental enforcement agencies under President Jair Bolsonaro failed to take action in response to nearly all of the deforestation alerts issued for the Amazon region since 2019. Nearly 98% of Amazon deforestation alerts weren’t investigated during this period, while fines paid by violators also dropped, raising fears among activists that environmental crimes are being encouraged under the current administration. Environmental agencies at the state level did better, but in the case of Mato Grosso state, Brazil’s breadbasket, still failed to take action in response to more than half of the deforestation that occurred. In an unexpected move, Bolsonaro on May 24 issued a decree raising the value of fines for falsifying documents to cover up illegal logging and infractions affecting conservation units or their buffer zones, among other measures.   More...
May 31, 2022
Chinese companies linked to illegal logging and mining in northern DRC
An investigation by EL PAÍS/Planeta Futuro finds evidence of illegal extraction of endangered tree species, precious minerals and strategic metals headed for global markets. The investigation reveals that Chinese-owned companies use ‘complaisance’ permits to log and export CITES II-listed Afrormosia, which international demand pushed to extinction in other African countries, and flags irregularities in the latest export quota. European countries will consider stricter measures on imports from the DRC. Military-protected concessionaires have been illegally mining gold, diamonds and rare metals with prospecting licenses for more than a year. They use mercury, a neurotoxic pollutant, in waters communities use to fish, bathe and drink. Mongabay has partnered with EL PAÍS/Planeta Futuro to publish this investigation in English. This story was produced with the support of the Rainforest Journalism Investigations Network (RIN) of the Pulitzer Center.   More...
May 31, 2022
Illicit cocoa farming at root of Côte d’Ivoire’s extensive deforestation
Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s top cocoa producer, but the country’s principal economic activity is driving devastating deforestation, which harms the environment and feeds the illicit timber trade. Cocoa expert Simon Nanga told the Enact organised crime project that farmers typically relied on natural soil fertility in virgin forests for high cocoa yields. Natural soil has better nutrients than already-farmed cocoa fields. This leads to forests being cleared to allow for cocoa cultivation.   More...
May 31, 2022
How illegal logging is threatening Romania's unique virgin forests
Romania is home to Europe's richest forests in terms of biodiversity. But every day they're being diminished - by illegal logging. "This is happening in a lot of places in Romania that have been wiped off the face of the Earth," says Gabriel Păun, President of the Agent Green NGO. "Whole mountains are empty, naked. Places where erosion has begun and nature can’t heal itself. In Făgăraș, in Maramureș, in the National Park of Domogled. It’s a disaster."   More...
May 24, 2022
Timber millions eyed in rainforest felling
A court filing reveals lucrative timber exports were a strong focus of forest-clearing by a part-Kiwi-owned firm operating in an area with substantial tropical rainforest in West Papua Documents tabled in a New Zealand court case show how a Kiwi developer and a company which has cut down Papuan rainforest intend to make around $110 million from the timber to make floors and decks – in stark contrast to statements made in a recent Newsroom investigation. Newsroom has secured the documentary evidence that lays out in detail how an Indonesian company linked to a New Zealand property developer intends to make close to A$100 million from clearing trees in an area of primary rainforest in Papua.   More...
May 20, 2022
Brazil plans to work with Musk to monitor Amazon rainforest
The Brazilian government has announced a plan to work with US entrepreneur Elon Musk to monitor the Amazon rainforest using satellite technology. The move comes amid accelerating deforestation due to illegal logging. Musk, CEO of US electric car maker Tesla and rocket manufacturer SpaceX, met with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and business leaders in Brazil on Friday.   More...
May 20, 2022
Indonesia to reimpose local palm oil sales rule as it ends export ban
JAKARTA, May 20 (Reuters) - Indonesia will reimpose a domestic sales requirement on palm oil, the government said on Friday, a day after the world's biggest producer of the key edible oil reversed a ban on its export. President Joko Widodo's government has made several reversals on palm oil policy since November. The late-April export ban, an attempt to control high domestic cooking oil prices, shocked global edible oil markets and angered farmers as their product prices fell.   More...
May 19, 2022
China’s Illegal Rosewood Trade with Mali Under Scrutiny
Between May 2020 and March 2022, China imported from Mali 220,000 trees' worth —148,000 tons — of a type of rosewood known as kosso despite a ban on its harvest and trade in the troubled West Africa nation, a report released Wednesday by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found. The dark wood is used to make expensive antique-style furniture. It is so popular in China, where it is known as "hongmu," or "red wood," that some 90% of the world's exports end up there, according to Haibing Ma, EIA's Asia policy specialist. Vietnam is also a key buyer of the wood.   More...
May 18, 2022
New bill introduced to counter trade in illegally harvested timber
New Zealand is committing to trade only in legally harvested timber with the Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today. Under the Bill, timber harvested in New Zealand and overseas, and used in products made here or imported, will have to be verified as being legally harvested.   More...
May 6, 2022
DRC logging contracts suspended as audit uncovers serious violations
The publication of an audit of forestry contracts in the Democratic Republic of Congo has exposed serious management failures. The audit cites serial breaches of the country’s forest code and more than a dozen violations of a 2002 moratorium on new concessions. The DRC’s environment minister announced the immediate suspension of forestry contracts deemed illegal by the audit, saying that where a special commission confirms the Inspectorate General of Finance’s findings, those contracts will be canceled. The audit is the first requirement to access a $500 million fund for protection of the Congo Basin pledged by funders last November, but the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), which is leading the funding process, has not reacted publicly to the negative findings.   More...
May 2, 2022
Highly valuable Asian rosewood trees face a host of threats to survival
Safeguarding native tree diversity through improved conservation and restoration efforts is at a critical juncture in Southeast Asia, as many tree species face threats from habitat loss, fire and climate change, among other human-caused threats. A new study has used a spatially explicit framework to identify species-specific priority areas for conservation and restoration among rosewood species in the Greater Mekong subregion, which includes Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.   More...
April 28, 2022
Deforestation Is High, Despite COP26 Promises
Brazil had the largest share of tree loss last year, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bolivia. Indonesia showed improvement.   More...
April 27, 2022
Indonesia stuns markets as it widens ban to include CPO, refined palm oil
JAKARTA, April 27 (Reuters) - Indonesia widened the scope of its export ban on raw materials for cooking oil to include crude and refined palm oil, its chief economic minister said on Wednesday, leaving markets in shock over the latest policy reversal. The announcement flipped the minister's statement a day earlier, in which he had said the export ban would only cover refined, bleached, and deodorized palm olein.   More...
April 23, 2022
Illegal Logging in Latin America and Caribbean Inflicting Irreversible Damage
An INTERPOL-coordinated operation codenamed Arcadia LAC has recovered more than 80 truckloads (more than 1,200 cubic meters) of illegal timber from forests across Latin America and the Caribbean. The value of the seized timber is estimated at more than $700,000.   More...
April 22, 2022
FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs Executive Order to Strengthen America’s Forests, Boost Wildfire Resilience, and Combat Global Deforestation
Today, on Earth Day, President Biden will sign an Executive Order to expand his Administration’s historic and bold efforts to tackle the climate crisis, make our nation more resilient to extreme weather, and strengthen local economies. The President will sign the Executive Order in Seattle, Washington—rounding out a trip across the West focused on lowering costs for families and protecting communities from intensifying climate impacts. Wildfires and extreme weather events are growing in frequency and ferocity, engulfing communities in the West and across the country and costing lives, homes, and money. Because President Biden knows the cost of inaction is too great, he is taking bold executive action and reaffirming his calls on Congress to address the climate crisis.   More...
April 22, 2022
Indonesia slaps ban on palm oil exports
JAKARTA -- Indonesia, the world's largest producer of palm oil, on Friday announced an export ban of the commodity amid a continuing cooking oil crisis in the country. Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said the ban on shipments of "raw materials for cooking oil and cooking oil" will take effect next Thursday for an indefinite period.   More...
April 20, 2022
New report pieces together toll of environmental damage in Venezuela in 2021
A report from the Political Ecology Observatory of Venezuela (OEP) lays out the worst environmental conflicts that the South American country faced in 2021. Among them are oil spills, deforestation, mining, and a lack of clean water in areas with degraded watersheds. The report notes the continuing difficulty of tracking environmental parameters in Venezuela, due to the lack of transparency by government at all levels. Regardless, it notes that last year’s events contributed to numerous public health crises.   More...
April 18, 2022
Kenya: As Kenyans Farm in Forests, Incomes Rise and Deforestation Falls
Lari — Forest authorities say Kenya's scheme to let farmers grow crops in forests has slashed illegal logging, as the country aims for 10% of its land in trees by the end of the year Kenya wants to increase tree cover from 7% to 10% by end of year Farmers in forests make extra income, drive off illegal loggers Some farmers are frustrated by limits on what they can grow   More...
April 19, 2022
Cabinet action ends 25 year-old quest for legal timber in Ghana
Thursday, March 31, 2022 will be recorded in the annals of Ghana’s forestry sector as one of its most remarkable days. On this day, the current Cabinet, at its 26th meeting, approved the conversion of 156 timber concessions and permits into Timber Utilisation Contracts (TUCs), introduced as a major policy reform in the forestry sector to provide for a competitive system of allocating timber resources.   More...
April 14, 2022
Africa's forest cover drops despite greater efforts to save trees
Forest cover in Africa is decreasing in spite of heightened awareness on their importance to climate. The losses from deforestation and widespread degradation are intensifying carbon loss from Africa’s tropical forests. Since 1990, Africa has reported an increase in net loss from 3.28 million hectares per year in 1990, to 3.94 million hectares per year from 2010 to 2020.   More...
April 7, 2022
More than half of activists killed in 2021 were land, environment defenders
An analysis by Front Line Defenders and the Human Rights Defenders Memorial recorded at least 358 murders of human rights activists globally in 2021. Of that total, nearly 60% were land, environment or Indigenous rights defenders. The countries with the highest death tolls were Colombia, Mexico and Brazil. Advocates say the figure is likely far higher, as attacks on land and environment defenders in Africa often go unreported.   More...
April 4, 2022
All coked up: The global environmental impacts of cocaine
Cocaine is one of the most widely used illicit drugs in the world, consumed by an estimated 20 million people in 2019, mostly in North America and Europe. Production, transit and consumption of the drug are exacting a heavy environmental toll, impacting tropical forests, freshwater and estuary ecosystems. Researchers argue that detaching the environmental harm caused by the cocaine trade from the long-lasting war on drugs is not possible. Solutions implemented to deal with the drug problem, such as the aerial spraying of illegal coca crops, while locally effective in curbing illegal cultivation, also cause deforestation and biodiversity damage.   More...
April 1, 2022
Congo Government Publishes Scathing Report on Logging Industry
The Democratic Republic of Congo published a scathing government audit report on the state of its forest and logging concessions, a first step in unlocking as much as $500 million in funding to support its climate-change commitments under the Central African Forest Initiative. The Inspector General report, which is dated May 2021, alleges that between 2014 and 2020 Congo’s environmental ministry illegally allocated logging permits and defied a moratorium on new concessions in place since 2002. Millions of dollars in fees, taxes, and royalties related to the permits have either not been paid or not made it to the public treasury, the report says.   More...
March 29, 2022
Mozambique launches new Forest Information System
The Mozambican authorities launched, in Maputo on Monday, a digital Forestry Information System (SIF) that will promote transparency, compliance with legislation and the computerization of forestry information. It is estimated that Mozambique has 31.7 million hectares of forests, with at least 449 species of trees and a volume of 800 million cubic metres of wood.   More...
March 28, 2022
CITES takes unprecedented steps to stop the illegal African rosewood trade
On March 11th, the 74th Standing Committee meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) met to discuss the continuing illegal trade of Pterocarpus erinaceus, also known as kosso or African rosewood. Today, the CITES Secretariat took an unprecedented step by notifying all range States (countries where the species is endemic) that they have 30 days to either: 1. Verify that the species is harvested legally (via a Legal Acquisition Finding [LAF]) and without further detriment to the survival of the species (via a Non-Detriment Finding [NDF]) 2. Submit to a voluntary zero-export quota where no exports of the species will be allowed, or 3. Face formal trade suspension.   More...
March 24, 2022
Supply chain warned Russian timber imports ‘could be illegal’
Timber chiefs have warned that imports of the material from Russia or Belarus could now be deemed illegal in the UK. The Timber Trade Federation (TTF) told its members that purchases from suppliers in the ostracised nations could fall foul of regulations initially coming into force nine years ago in part to tackle illegal logging abroad.   More...
March 9, 2022
FSC and PEFC ban Russian and Belarusian wood
FSC and PEFC have barred wood and timber from Russia and Belarus from their certified products, as a host of other industry suppliers go public with their stance against Russia’s war in Ukraine.   More...
February 23, 2022
The High Cost of Ikea Furniture
Since 2007, Romania has lost between half and two-thirds of its virgin forest. The environmentalists and activists trying to protect it keep getting killed.   More...
February 20, 2022
Interpol cracks down on illegal logging in Central and South America: 200 arrested
Interpol has announced that it arrested nearly 200 people in a wide-ranging international operation against illegal logging and the trafficking of timber. The three-month effort spanned 12 Central and South American countries, and 8 million dollars worth of timber was seized.   More...
January 29, 2022
Mexican town protects forest from avocado growers and cartels
Regular citizens have taken the fight against illegal logging into their own hands in the pine-covered mountains of western Mexico, where loggers clear entire hillsides for avocado plantations that drain local water supplies and draw drug cartels hungry for extortion money.   More...
January 3, 2022
Two companies freed of illegal logging in forest reserve
Two logging companies were acquitted by the Sessions Court on March 1, 2022 on a charge with conducting illegal logging in a forest reserve in Tongod from 2016 to 2017.   More...