Wednesday 25th October, London 2023 - Chinese-owned timber company Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development (CKBFD) exported more than $5 million dollars' worth of illegal timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to China between June and December 2022, according to a new investigation by Global Witness.
Using satellite imagery, the investigation found that despite CKBFD's logging concessions being suspended by the Ministry of Environment in April 2022, the company continued to illegally log valuable and rare hardwood trees in the DRC rainforest. The company exported the timber to its parent company, the Chinese timber conglomerate Wan Peng International, via the Chinese port of Zhangjiagang, near Shanghai. Global Witness uncovered this trade by tracking shipping movements from DRC to China and comparing those with data from China Customs.
The allegations of illegal activity were raised with both China Customs and the DRC Ministry of Environment ahead of the report's publication. The Chinese authority told Global Witness in September 2023 that they couldn't carry out enforcement because the logging took place outside the Chinese border and violated DRC laws - but it would consider actions if the DRC authority requested them. Global Witness did not receive a response from Wan Peng International or the DRC government when approached for comment.
The report highlights the governance issues that still beset the logging industry in the DRC, including corruption, illegal logging, and conflict with forest communities. When a 2023 commission of DRC ministers visited 52 logging concessions, fewer than one in four were found to be operating to the legal standard.
While China has stated its intention to enforce its laws to tackle global illegal deforestation, the report shows that China still does not prohibit illegal timber imports in practice. This inhibits its ability to enforce and realise its international commitments.
Charlie Hammans, Forests Investigator at Global Witness, said: "Our investigation reveals that despite having their concessions suspended by the government, Chinese-owned CKBFD continued to wreak havoc in the DRC, tearing down old-growth rainforest and exporting millions of dollars' worth of illegal timber to China. As one of biggest consumers of timber globally, China can be a key part of the solution to global deforestation, and the Chinese authorities must crack down on companies exploiting the DRC's precious forests for profit."
Often referred to as the "second lung of the world", the Congo Basin's rainforest is one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, playing a vital role in regulating Earth's climate.
Two million Indigenous peoples are estimated to live in DRC's rainforest, and it is home to a wealth of biodiversity - including endangered species such as the bonobo, okapi (or forest giraffe) and the eastern lowland gorilla (also known as Grauer's gorilla).
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The most significant driver of illegal logging in Africa is Chinese market demand for African teak (afromorsia) and mahogany substitute species such as sapele, which places huge pressure on forests throughout the Congo Basin.
China's Forest Law, revised in 2019, appeared not to be sufficient for China to act on illegal timber imports. The new investigation urges China to enact and enforce a clear legal prohibition against illegal timber imports - as well as the financing that drives this deforestation - before crucial ecosystems in DRC and other tropical forest regions are destroyed.
Blaise Mudodosi, Coordinator at Actions pour la Promotion et Protection des Peuples et Espèces Menacés (APEM), said: "Illegal logging in the Congo Basin poses a major threat to the rainforest and the people who depend on it. China's role in this trade is of particular concern, given the country's enormous demand for timber."The Chinese government must take measures to stop this flow of illegal timber from the DRC and other Congo Basin countries and must also provide financial and technical assistance to the DRC to help it effectively curb this flow and sustainably manage its forests. The future of the Congo Basin rainforest depends on it."
Chinese banks, along with their international peers, are also profiting from the expansion of agricultural commodity production linked to deforestation around the world. In 2021, Global Witness found that Chinese banks had earned around $554 million from lending to deforesting business between 2016 -2020.
Charlie Hammans, Investigator - Forests
Evie Calder, Senior Communications Advisor, Forests and Defenders
