How Chinese companies launder illegal timber

An investigative journalist has exposed how companies in China launder wood of dubious origin in products they export, and how their customers in the EU are often aware of the fraud but don’t care and may even encourage it.

UNEP-WCMC reports on EUTR implementation

The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has published its latest briefing note on the implementation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), which covers the period September to October 2018.

Vietnam can play crucial role in protecting world’s rainforests, says Global Witness

Global Witness says Vietnam’s recently-signed Voluntary Partnership Agreement with the European Union can and must prevent the country from ‘becoming a new global timber laundering hub.’ Instead, the Agreement can ensure that Vietnam plays ‘a crucial role’ in protecting the world’s threatened rainforests.

Paradise lost: how China can help the Solomon Islands protect its forests

Our new investigation conclusively shows that tropical timber across the Solomon Islands is being harvested on an unsustainable scale, and that much of the activity driving this environmental destruction is at high risk of being illegal. If the growing degradation of the Solomon Islands’ tropical forests carries on unchecked, it will have a disastrous and irreparable impact on the country’s environment. The loss of this carbon sink would also have a significant impact on climate change.

UNEP-WCMC informs on illegality risks from five timber source countries

The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has released the first five in a series of country overviews that aim to aid the implementation of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR). These overviews, which are available for Brazil, China, Myanmar, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, are produced for the European Commission.

L’UE, la Chine et l’Afrique étudient des moyens de travailler ensemble dans le cadre de leur coopération forestière

Les participants européens, chinois et africains au séminaire international sur la gestion durable sino-africaine des écosystèmes forestiers ont discuté des synergies entre la finance verte, les engagements de la Chine en Afrique et le Plan d’action pour l’application des réglementations forestières, la gouvernance et les échanges commerciaux (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade - FLEGT).

EU, China and Africa explore ways to work together in their forestry cooperation

At the International Workshop on China-Africa Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management, participants from Europe, China and Africa discussed synergies among green finance, China’s engagement in Africa, and Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT).

Why I’m cautiously hopeful about China’s efforts towards regulating timber imports

In 2012, when I first started researching China’s illegal timber imports, related news or information in Chinese was scarce. Six years on, however, a study co-authored by a Chinese government research institution offers a flicker of hope. China may be heading in the right direction and joining a growing global community who prohibit illegal timber imports by law.

EU and China agree on their 2018 cooperation under the BCM

China and the European Union (EU) are strengthening their efforts to address illegal logging and promote legal timber trade through their Bilateral Coordination Mechanism (BCM) on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance. The 9th meeting of the BCM took place in Beijing, China, on 7 March 2018.

Study identifies options for legal timber legislation in China

A summary report of the Feasibility Analysis of the Incorporation of Timber Legality Requirements into Chinese Laws or Regulations to Promote Trade in Legal Forest Products was published. The analysis was undertaken jointly by the EU (DG Environment, European Commission) and China (State Forestry administration and Chinese Academy of Forestry), in the context of the EU – China Bilateral Coordination Mechanism (BCM) on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG).