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Illegal logging and timber trade

Illegal logging involves felling protected tree species, or taking timber from protected areas or beyond specific quotas. It is a practice rife in the Asia-Pacific region and leads to economic losses and environmental degradation in many countries. AIC research shows that even though Australia’s timber is mostly harvested legally, we have poor or non-existent import laws relating to illegally logged timber. This means that Australia ‘unwittingly’ benefits from the illegal logging taking place elsewhere. To find out more about this subject the AIC website offers useful links to the work of NGOs, business and government.

• Combating illegal logging
  Asia Forest Partnership
• Forests for the world | Reports and briefings
  Environmental Investigation Agency campaign
• Forest law and governance
  World Bank
• Illegal logging and forest crime
  World Wide Fund for Nature
• Illegal-logging.info
  Sustainable Development Programme, Royal Institute for International Affairs (UK)
• Approaches to controlling illegal forest activities : considerations from Southeast Asia (PDF 3.1MB)
  Akiko Inoguchi, Rowena Soriaga and Peter Walpole. Asia Forest Network, 2005
• Illegal logging, governance and trade : 2005 joint NGO conference
  FERN, Greenpeace and WWF, 2005
• Overview of illegal logging
  Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
• Facing reality : how to halt the import of illegal timber in the EU (PDF 935kB)
  FERN, Greenpeace and WWF, 2004
• Controlling imports of illegal timber : options for Europe (PDF 1.22MB)
  FERN and Royal Institute for International Affairs (UK), 2002
• The timber mafia
  Four Corners, ABC TV, 2002
• Forest law enforcement and governance : East Asia ministerial conference
  World Bank Group. Conference held in Bali, 2001
• Corrupt and illegal activities in the forestry sector : current understandings, and implications for World Bank Forest Policy (PDF 220kB)
  Debra J Callister. Report for the World Bank Group, Forest Policy Implementation Review and Strategy Development, 1999

Recent publications

• Environmental crime in Australia
  14 October 2010
• Following the proceeds of illegal logging in Indonesia
  24 March 2010
• The illegal trade in timber and timber products in the Asia-Pacific region
  01 January 2008

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