homepage - programs - responsible trade - globalization - illegal logging
Tropical forests provide homes for an incredible array of wildlife and other species. Orchids drip from a tree that stretches high into the canopy, absorbing sun and softening rainfall. Birds chatter in the branches as an orangutan mother shows her child how to use a stick to forage. Their rainforest home contains not only a wealth of biodiversity and a livelihood for local people, but may prove integral to solving the global warming crisis.
Forests hold massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) within their plant life. When forests are eliminated, this CO2 is released back into the atmosphere where it contributes to global warming. Scientists estimate that one quarter of the reductions in CO2 emissions necessary to stabilize the atmosphere can be achieved simply by preserving the world's forests and managing land use sustainably. Currently, 30% of the global warming pollution released into the atmosphere each year is a result of deforestation.
Well managed, sustainable forestry can help to conserve wildlife and other species while providing timber products that we use. Unfortunately, most commercial logging in developing countries is illegal, often focusing on rare or endangered species such as bigleaf mahogany, merbau, and ramin which fetch high prices in the market.
The True Cost of Illegal Logging
Illegal logging does not generate revenue necessary for countries to pay off debt or provide basic services. The World Bank estimates that developing countries lose $15 billion annually to illegal logging.
The economies of developed countries suffer when domestic timber industries are undercut by cheap imports.The U.S. timber industry estimates annual losses of $1
billion due to decreased exports and depressed prices.
Indigenous communities and farmers are forced to work for logging companies and, in some cases, have received death threats from timber companies. In the Peruvian
mahogany industry alone, an estimated 33,000 individuals work under forced labor conditions.
The illegal timber trade may be used to smuggle narcotics and launder drug money, while profits from these illegal sales are used to finance criminal regimes or
perpetuate regional conflict.
Deforested areas are extremely vulnerable to mudslides from heavy rains, floods, or waves. The President of the Philippines banned domestic logging after hundreds
of people died in mudslides triggered by a typhoon.
What is the Connection to Global Trade?
Without continued consumption of illegal products, illegal logging will cease to be profitable. As the world's largest consumer of wood products, the United States must be a leader in stopping this illegal trade. Unfortunately, the U.S. has or is in the process of negotiating trade agreements with countries harboring some of the worst offenders of illegal logging in the world. For example, the U.S. imports 93% of Peru's mahogany, most of which is harvested illegally. Similarly, shipments of illegal Indonesian timber through Singapore have increased by 62% since the implementation of a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Singapore. The environmental provisions in our trade agreements are filled with nice-sounding yet non-binding rhetoric. The European Union (EU), on the other hand, has signed an agreement with Indonesia to ensure the EU only purchases legally harvested timber. We have no time to lose in setting a forward-looking trade policy that would include meaningful and binding provisions to protect the global treasure of wildlife, promote sustainable practices and help curb global warming. New trade agreements should contain a definitive ban on trade in illegally harvested timber.