Illegal timber production falls 22%

Total global production of illegal timber has declined by 22% since 2002, according to a new report by Chatham House.

The report, described as the most thorough assessment to date of the global fight against illegal logging, says a decade of international effort to tackle the problem is having a dramatic and beneficial effect.

Findings show illegal logging has dropped by 50% in Cameroon, by 50-75% in the Brazilian Amazon and by 75% in Indonesia in the last decade.

The reduction has prevented the degradation of up to 17 million ha of forests – larger than England and Wales combined.

The report covers producer countries Malaysia, Ghana, Cameroon, Indonesia and Brazil, as well five consumer nations – the UK, US, Japan, France and the Netherlands. It also features processing countries China and Vietnam.

However, it says illegal logging remains a major problem, with 100 million m³ of illegal timber harvested in the producing countries last year – enough, apparently, to encircle the globe more than 10 times over.

“The effort to combat illegal logging and improve forest governance has brought developed and developing countries together in a unique way with a shared sense of purpose,” said Sam Lawson, report lead author.