EU moves to crack down on illegal timber imports. Illegal logging destroys millions of acres of forest each year. Much of the timber ends up in Europe, one of the world’s largest markets for wood products like lumber, plywood and furniture. About 20% of these imports come from trees that were illegally felled.
Until now the EU has promoted voluntary action to curb illegal logging. But under a new legislative proposal, importers would have to take certain steps to verify the wood is legal. The regulation would also apply to timber producers in the EU, where illegal logging has been reported in some countries.
Illegal logging is wreaking environmental havoc, accelerating deforestation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Deforestation accounts for around 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
And the problem is getting worse. More than half of all logging now occurs in vulnerable regions – the Amazon basin, central Africa, and southeast Asia. In some countries illegal logging is so rampant it far outstrips legal timber production.
Deforestation is expected to be a priority in the upcoming international talks on climate change. The commission is proposing a global scheme to reward developing countries for cuts in greenhouse gases achieved by reducing deforestation.
Illegal logging is not just a problem for the environment. It robs indigenous and local people of jobs and resources. And it fosters corruption and organised crime, with profits often used to fund regional wars.
It also costs governments billions of euros in lost revenues and undermines the competitiveness of legal logging operations in both importing and exporting countries.