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Forest crime
The scale of revenue from wildlife crime is dwarfed by the income from illegal
logging and forest crime. Forest crime, such as illegal logging, has previously been
estimated to represent a value of 30–100 billion USD annually or 10–30% of the
total global timber trade. An estimated 50–90% of the all the wood in some indi-
vidual tropical countries is suspected to come from illegal sources or has been
logged illegally. Forest crime appears to take place in four forms: 1) illegal exploita-
tion of high-value endangered (CITES listed) wood species, including rosewood
and mahogany; 2) illegal logging of timber for sawnwood, building material and
furniture; 3) illegal logging and laundering of wood through plantation and agri-
cultural front companies to supply pulp for the paper industry; and 4) utilization
of the vastly unregulated woodfuel and charcoal trade to conceal illegal logging in
and outside protected areas, conduct extensive tax evasion and fraud, and supply
fuel through the informal sector.
Forest crime
The illegal trade and exploitation in flora, such as illegal logging,
has been estimated to represent a value of 30–100 billion USD
annually. This equals 10–30% of the total global timber trade.
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An estimated 50–90% of the wood in some tropical countries
is suspected to come from illegal sources or has been logged
illegally.
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In addition to the illegal trade in harvested wild
plants for ornamental and medicinal purposes, the illegal trade
in flora appears to take place in four main forms:
1. The illegal exploitation of high-value endangered wood
species, including rosewood and mahogany (many of
which are now CITES listed)
2. Illegal logging of timber for sawnwood, building material
and furniture
3. Illegal logging and laundering of wood through planta-
tion and agricultural front companies to supply pulp for
the paper industry
4. Utilization of the vastly unregulated woodfuel and
charcoal trade to conceal illegal logging in and outside
protected areas, conduct extensive tax evasion and fraud,
and supply fuel through the informal sector.
Trafficking and smuggling of endangered CITES-listed
species such as Rosewood (
Dalbergia
sp.) and some species of
Mahogany involve organized crime in both harvesting and in
distribution through large trans-oceanic shipments.
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Most
illegally sourced and traded wood is either not considered or
recognized as contraband by customs, or falsely declared as
legally sourced and traded wood, or mixed inside paper and
pulp. Over thirty different ways of conducting illegal logging
and laundering timber are identified. Primary methods
include falsification of logging permits, bribes to obtain
logging permits (in some instances noted as USD 20–50,000
per permit), logging beyond concessions, hacking govern-
ment websites to obtain transport permits for higher volumes
or transport, laundering illegal timber by establishing roads,
ranches, palm oil or forest plantations and mixing with legal
timber during transport or in mills. Funnelling large volumes
of illegal timber through legal plantations, across borders or
through mills, is another effective way to launder logs. In
some instances illegal loggers mix illicit timber with 3–30
times the amount of officially processed timber, which also
constitutes tax fraud. Many of these illegal operations involve
bribes to forest officials, police and military, and even royalties
to local village heads.
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