Teak - Illegal logging

Illegal logging is a serious threat to the world’s native forests. The problem must be taken care of now if we are not to lose the last pristine forests. Environmentally, illegal activities cause a tremendous loss of biodiversity.

But international trade in illegal forest products also promotes organized crime and all that that entails corruption, money laundering, and human rights violations. Moreover, the import of cheap illegal timber distorts the market skewed and provides an advantage to companies that look big on morale and sustainability.

Wood can be illegal in many ways:

The tree is felled outside the permitted forest area.
The felling exceeds the permitted amount.
The felling includes tree species, it is forbidden to fell or negotiates.
Permits etc. is issued after bribery or corruption.
The rights of forest workers have been violated.
The traditional rights of local people are not respected.
Relevant taxes and fees are not paid.

What has Denmark done to solve the problem of importing illegal timber?

In June 2001, the Danish Parliament decided that all tropical wood used in the public sector must be legally and sustainably produced.
This guide for purchasing tropical wood was prepared by the Ministry of the Environment in 2003. So far, it is only a guide and not a requirement.

In March 2003, the Danish Minister of the Environment sent letters to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Russia, in which he called for cooperation in the fight against illegal logging.

What has the EU done to solve the problem of importing illegal timber?

The EU imports approx. 6.7 million cubic meters of tropical timber, surpassed by Japan and China alone. and in 2002, the EU Commission estimated that about half of this timber is illegal. The need to stop predation in the rainforest is obvious, and in the EU, initiatives have been taken. For example, to stop the import of teak from Burma. However, the demand for stricter legislation and a general ban on the import of non-certified wood is growing rapidly.

Precisely certification of sustainable forestry and legislation against the import of non-certified timber is necessary avenues against the cessation of the illegal and destructive deforestation of rainforests. Other good ways are the expansion of forest plantations so that, in the future, you can supply a larger amount of the demanded wood from plantations and not from the few remaining natural rainforests.

As consumers’ awareness of the problems increases, imports of the certified hardwood and thus also the plantation-harvested teak will increase.