Illegal Liberian timber worth thousands of Euros was sitting in a French port less than 3 weeks before a new EU law prohibiting the import of illegal timber came into force, Global Witness revealed today.
Under the EU Timber Regulation, which took effect yesterday, the import of illegal timber is prohibited and could land the importer with up to two years imprisonment or a 50,000 Euro fine.
"The discovery of illegal Liberian timber in Europe just as the new law kicks in underlines the need for European companies to make sure they're complying or face some very heavy penalties," said Alexandra Pardal, Senior Campaigner at Global Witness. "Almost all timber from tropical rainforests carries a high risk of illegality and should be checked out thoroughly - if there's any suspicion at all, don't touch it."
Global Witness found huge tropical logs from Liberia lying in the port at Nantes, France on 13 February. Labels on the logs clearly showed they were cut under a permit that was found to be illegal by an investigative committee set up by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Official export data from Liberia indicate that B & T Wood of Germany shipped 1,631 m³ of logs cut under illegal permits to France sometime after 31 August 2012. Another German company, Treemex, shipped 929 m³ of illegally-cut logs to France in January 2013, according to export data.
When contacted by Global Witness, B & T Wood denied importing the timber referred to in the Liberian export data but confirmed that they had imported Liberian timber cut under the same type of logging permit into France in or around September 2012.
B & T Wood stated that theLiberian government had put in place controls to stop the illegal felling and export of timber which were impossible to violate, and that they maintained a high standard of checks on the legality of the timber that they buy. Treemex did not respond.
Investigations and reports by Global Witness, Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU) and Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) in 2012 revealed how a breakdown in law and order in Liberia saw 40 per cent of the country's tropical rainforests handed over to logging companies through the widespread and illegal issuance of logging licences called Private Use Permits (PUPs). These permits were used by logging companies to avoid regulations and tax obligations.
An independent investigative committee commissioned by President Johnson Sirleaf published a report last December detailing the many ways in which the issuance of Private Use Permits violated Liberian laws. The report also found evidence of systematic fraud, falsification of documentation and corrupt payments to officials.
Global Witness has documented the trail of illegal Private Use Permit timber from Liberia to China, India, Turkey, Russia and United Arab Emirates, in addition to France.
Under the new law, any company importing timber into the EU is now required to carry out thorough background checks to ensure that the timber was logged according to the producer country's laws. In high-risk countries where the rule of law is weak, which is the case in most tropical forested countries, companies will need to be aware of the details of each logging licence under which timber is cut and take measures to verify that all relevant laws are being followed.
"European timber importers will have to up their game now," said Pardal. "For decades consumer countries have been driving the demand for cheap, illegal timber that breeds corruption and criminality in forested countries while taking a devastating toll on the environment. This law is a big step towards making sure that they take responsibility for what ends up in European factories or on the high street."
The international trade in illegal timber is worth up to US$100 billion globally according to Interpol, which announced a major crackdown on the trade on 20 February in which 200 people across 12 Central and South American countries were arrested. Roughly one in five people globally rely directly upon forests for some part of their daily needs. Forests also harbour half of all plant and animal species.
Implementation of the law in each EU member state is decided by the government of that country. So far Germany and the UK have declared the penalties they will impose, with German companies facing up to two years in prison or 50,000 Euro fine if they fall foul of the law. UK company directors could face up to two years in jail. France is expected to soon adopt similar penalties.
High resolution photos of timber in ports in Liberia and France and an interactive online map tracking illegal timber imports from Liberia in 2012/3 are available on request.
Contact:
Alexandra Pardal; apardal@globalwitness.org; +44 (0)7720 737 954
Chloe Fussell; cfussell@globalwitness.org; +44 (0)7790 464 596
Oliver Courtney; ocourtney@globalwitness.org, +44 (0)7912 517 147
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