Completion requirements
1. At a glance
- Timber trafficking is a major form of wildlife and forest crime, defined by UNODC as “the taking, trading (supplying, selling or trafficking), importing, exporting, processing, possessing, obtaining and consumption of wild fauna and flora, including timber and other forest products, in contravention of national or international law”.
- As much as 30 percent of the global timber harvest is illegal, valued at up to USD
150 billion per year. - In parts of the Amazon, Central Africa and Southeast Asia with large tropical forests, illegal logging is estimated to account for 50 to 90 percent of all forestry activities.
- Rosewood is estimated to be the highest value and highest volume of illegally traded wildlife product globally.
- Impacts of timber trafficking include deforestation, desertification and other forms of environmental degradation; biodiversity loss; habitat destruction; loss of government revenues; and reduced economic opportunities for local communities. Timber trafficking can fund armed groups.
- Illegal activity is present throughout the timber supply chain and includes corruption, tax evasion, non-payment of fees, document fraud and money laundering.
- If processing occurs at the point of origin, it becomes nearly impossible to determine the legality of timber products. Illegal products that enter the supply chain at this stage are then transported as part of legal shipments.
- Timber trafficking requires the involvement of corrupt officials and unscrupulous companies to launder illegally sourced wood into the international supply chain.