Green Carbon, Black Trade

mid-2000s simply triggered a series of more advanced means

to launder illegally logged timber or to conduct illegal logging

under the cover of plantation development, palm oil establish-

ment, road construction, redefinition of forest classifications,

exceeding legal permit limits or obtaining illicit logging per-

mits through bribes (Amacher,

et al

. 2012).

While some success was achieved in Brazil and, temporarily,

in Indonesia with national initiatives including joint security

sweeps (Operasi Hutan Lestari (OHL) sustainable forest opera-

tion), illegal logging activity has not declined. Indeed a large

share, estimated from 40–80 per cent, of total volumes remains

illegal (Luttrel,

et al

. 2011). Traditional law enforcement efforts

limited to operations against illegal logging have been effective

in protecting some national parks, but have also changed the

nature of the illegal logging to more refined methods including

widespread collusive corruption and laundering of illegal log-

ging under fake permits, ostensible plantation establishment

and palm oil development.

Illegal logging and black trade in illegally harvested wood prod-

ucts has continued due in large part to a lack of coordinated

international law enforcement efforts to combat the organized

transnational nature of the criminal groups involved. Indeed,

law enforcement has often been associated with “guns on the

ground”, rather than full investigative operations examining tax

fraud and laundering, which are essential for combating mod-

ern illegal logging syndicates.

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of how

illegal logging takes place and describe common methods

of how it is laundered and financed and its primary destina-

tions. The report also reviews some of the current practices

and initiatives to combat illegal logging and provides infor-

mation about how illegal logging syndicates and black wood

traders are evading many current law enforcement initiatives

and trade incentives.

Sources:WorldBank;

WWF;TRAFFIC;FAO.

Illegal logging

(lower estimate)

Illegal logging

(higher estimate)

100

Thousand million US Dollars

Illegal wildlife

tra cking, 2005

Value of

World sheries

Annual value of illegal logging

Compared with other activities