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A splinter of hope in the fight against illegal logging
“Up to a billion of the world’s poorest people are dependent on forests, and reductions in illegal logging are helping to protect their livelihoods,”
- Sam Lawson, Chatham House Associate Fellow and lead author of the report
Illegal logging has fallen by 22 per cent globally, and up to 75 per cent in the Brazilian Amazon and Indonesia.
The world’s forests also play a vital part in storing carbon and as habitat for half of all terrestrial flora and fauna. Illegal logging is a serious threat not only to the forests’ inhabitants but also fuels CO2 emissions, corruption and conflict.
The study credits political pressure from NGOs and improvement in regulations and practices by the industry for the positive development. However, a lot more needs to be done.
The U.S. Lacey Act and the EU’s recent decision to ban imports of illegal timber from 2012 are important steps, as is a growing interest in the industry in using sustainably managed timber.