Illegal logging and the trade in illegally sourced timber is a major illicit industry with supply chains stretching across the world. Its prevalence is due to a range of criminal behaviours in violation of local, national and international laws that, for various reasons, go undetected or unpunished. 

Corruption is a primary facilitator of the illegal trade in timber. The global cost of corruption in the sector is at least USD 29 billion per year, according to INTERPOL (2016). Bribery, fraud, abuse of office, extortion, cronyism and nepotism are common in the forestry sector and involve government officials, law enforcement officers and logging company officials (INTERPOL, 2019).

As in animal trafficking, the legal and illegal timber trades are deeply intertwined (UNODC, 2012). Timber trafficking typically involves criminals working in legitimate forestry businesses, corrupt officials and government agencies who work together to launder illicit timber products into legal markets. Criminal groups are attracted to timber trafficking due to the high value of timber and the low risk of penalties.

Illegal logging and timber trafficking often occur in countries with poor governance, weak law enforcement and high levels of corruption (Baker, 2020), as well as in conflict and post-conflict areas, especially where large tropical rainforests remain. The forestry sector is poorly regulated or monitored in much of the world, even where strong policies and laws exist on paper. This enables large-scale illicit trade to occur.