Transcript WC1058 non technical summary

Illegal Logging
Overview
• Regulations and initiatives such as the EU
Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement,
Governance and Trade (FLEGT), EU Due
Diligence, the US Lacey Act and the increasing
number of tree species listed in the
Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES) are exerting
substantial pressure at a global level to
detect illegal trade in timber.
• EU Member States account for 20% of worldwide illegal timber imports. Developing
systems that can ensure timber originates
from legal sources is a priority for timberproducing and timber-consuming countries
alike.
Global sales of tropical timber are reported to
be worth an estimated 30 -100 billion USD
annually, with up to 30% harvested illegally
and projected trade to increase with the
growth of the world economy (United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013).
Background
The FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement
Governance and Trade) regulations were
introduced in 2003 with the intention of
reversing the rate of destruction of the world’s
forests. One of the European Union’s aims is to
halt the import of illegally acquired and
endangered timber. The timber trade law
(regulation (EU) 995/2010) stipulates that
importers of tropical timber must be able to
identify the origin of timber used in their
products, and from the 3rd March 2013, it is a
criminal offence to sell endangered species of
timber in the European Union without a FLEGT
licence. There are few analytical methods
available to determine the declared origin of
timber, and governments, business and
consumers now expect to see evidence that
timber is sourced ethically, and that robust
procedures can be called upon to verify
authenticity claims.
• Due diligence procedures involving checking
of shipping documents and visual checks of
common timber species for origin
identification are prone to fraud.
• The processing of timber into finished
products before export to Europe and the
USA further complicates the challenge of
identifying the species and provenance of
wood, and it is possible that steps such as
seasoning and heat treatment may
complicate the extraction of DNA which
would otherwise enable species identification
(Rachmayanti et al., 2009).
Impacts of deforestation
Deforestation significantly reduces the buffering
capacity of the forest allowing many toxic
elements to be leached and transported by
water runoff into nearby aquifers and lakes
(Lombardozzi et al., 2003). A reduction in the
biomass of the forest, brought about through
forest clearing, reduces the number of roots
which would otherwise be available for water
uptake, leading to increased water runoff during
heavy rainfall. This in turn leads to a reduction in
the volume of moisture available for evaporation
and formation of essential forest cloud cover.
Policy needs
The
global
timber
tracking
network
(globaltimbertrackingnetwork.org)
has set out how it believes governments
should:
1. respond to the worldwide problem of illegal
logging and trade in illegally logged timber.
2. investigate possible violations of the
European Union timber regulations (EUTR)
and fully prosecute known violations.
3. Ensure all EU member states are fully
implementing EUTR and support the
development of a robust DNA and isotopic
reference data sets in key supply countries to
enable accurate determination of country of
harvest and employ such innovative tracking
technologies routinely in enforcement related
activities.
Water runoff also decreases soil percolation,
infiltration and interflow resulting in drying of
the forest top soil (Jacobs & Bruin, 1992).
Opening up of the forest canopy increases the
penetration of sunlight to the forest floor and
therefore an increase of temperature is
observed. Once the wind insulating ability of
the forest has been compromised, dehydrated
top soil particles are carried away, initiating the
process of land erosion and desertification
(Hudson, 1995).
Endangered Timbers
1. Ebony’s such as Diospyros angabensis,
Diospyros velutipes, Diospyros lohokoensis
and Diospyros masoalensis are all unique
to Madagascar. Many of the Madagascan
species are on the CITES register, classified
as vulnerable, and at risk of extinction.
Ebony is a dark and dense wood which has
many small use applications, particular in
the manufacture of musical instruments,
pool cues and hand gun grips. Rosewood
and Ebony are both ecologically and
economically important to Madagascar
and are under threat due to large scale
deforestation on the island (Harper et al.,
2007).
2. Rosewoods are types of legumes that are
members of the genus Dalbergia and are
listed on the CITES register, classified as
vulnerable, at risk of extinction. The strong
and heavy nature of its wood means that
it has many specialist high end
applications such as the production of
chess
pieces,
guitar
fingerboard
components, billiard cues and luxury
flooring.
Dalbergia bathiei and Dalbergia monticola are
types of Rosewood unique to Madagascar and are
major components of the oriental forest in the
country.
3. Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) is
commonly found in West Africa. The species is
listed on the CITES register as vulnerable, at
risk of extinction, with restrictions such as
felling limits and protected areas being put in
place in an attempt to curb their trade.
Species of Entandrophragma are often used in
the production of furniture, having a similar
appearance to mahogany, they are used
instead as a cheaper replacement.
Table 1.1 Summary of threat classifications of timbers analysed as part of this study.
Common name
Scientific name
Origin
Uses
Level of use in
the UK
Global threat
status
Minor
VU: At risk of
extinction
Ebony
Diospyros
Africa, Asia
Cutlery handles,
musical
instruments,
craftwork.
Rosewood
Dalbergia
Africa, South
America, India
Furniture, musical
instruments
Minor
VU: At risk of
extinction
Sapele
Entandophragma
cylindricum
West Africa
Furniture, joinery,
decorative
applications
Major
VU: At risk of
extinction