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Another very common method of illegal logging is to construct
roads in protected areas or other areas for mining operations
or other purposes. Forests are cut in wide corridors along the
road, with the road often targeting high-valuable timber along
its way. Such an incident was observed in 2008 in Sumatra, In-
donesia, where objections from a critical local mayor concerned
about tourism impacts and flood risks from the illegal logging
resulted in a price being put on his head by the local timber
mafia (UNEP 2011).
WIDENING ROAD CORRIDORS,
MINING OR OTHER FELLING
#10
Political economic networks often provide forceful driv-
ers for small-scale illegal logging and timber trade. Many
of these networks bring together not only powerful actors
from the private sector but also government officials, in-
cluding the very officials holding the responsibility to en-
force logging bans, harvest regulations, and restrictions
on timber trade. The operations of these networks are
described in recent research on small-scale illegal log-
ging in Albania, Romania and Vietnam. The research
demonstrates how artisanal loggers, small traders, wood
processors and government officials find ways to circum-
vent national laws and forest regulations. It also reveals
that the villagers living near affected forests, the media
and wider society often react by calling for the applica-
tion of national law and demand strict law enforcement.
Nevertheless, research shows that a narrow law enforce-
ment approach may easily generate counter-productive
results in the case of small-scale logging. Logging bans
and tighter law enforcement may actually play into the
hands of the actors driving illegal logging. The reason is
that a narrow enforcement approach may strengthen the
position of corrupt local officials by expanding their pow-
ers instead of reining in their practices. A mayor in Roma-
nia, for example, wielded his legal and extra-legal powers
to circumvent a ban on logging in an adjacent national
park in favour of his wife’s company (Dorondel 2009). A
district forest service in Albania looked away from illegal
logging in return for bribes, even though it had stopped
issuing logging quotas entirely (Stahl 2010). And forest
rangers in Vietnam abused their enforcement powers to
facilitate illegal timber trade, deriving personal profits
from it (Sikor and To 2011). None of these local actors
would terminate their illegal practices unless national
law-makers find ways to strengthen their accountability
to their constituents, as well as to national authorities.
Illegal logging and political economic
networks
Another common method of
illegal logging is to construct
roads that often target high-
valuable timber along its way.