Climate change and illegal logging

Deforestation contributes up to 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and is often a result of illegal logging, poor governance and corruption. The UK Government’s Forest Governance and Trade Programme aims to tackle illegal logging, promote governance reforms in developing countries where illegal logging is a problem, and to improve the functioning of markets for legal and sustainable timber products. The timber procurement policy is a key element of this Programme, and requires all timber to be from legal sources, and where possible from sustainable sources.

Climate change

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there has been an unprecedented warming trend during the 20th century.  The predicted effects of rising global temperatures are widespread and include extreme weather, famines, water shortages and coastal flooding. Changes in world output and displacement of people would have serious effects on the world's population.

The Stern Review (published October 2006) identified reduction of deforestation as one of four key elements of future international frameworks for addressing climate change.  The report noted that loss of natural forest contributes more to global carbon emissions each year (about 18%) than the transport sector. The largest emissions from deforestation arise when land is converted to agricultural production; especially when slash and burn techniques are used.

Managing forests in a way that ensures harm to ecosystems is minimised, forest productivity, ecosystem health and vitality and biodiversity is maintained is therefore intricately linked to climate change mitigation and adaptation. 

These forest management requirements form the definition of sustainable sources for the UK Government's timber procurement policies.

Illegal logging

Illegal timber harvest poses a critical threat to world’s forest resources.  A 2005 WWF report estimated that 28% of timber coming in to the UK had been illegally logged.

Illegal logging is linked to deforestation (and therefore climate change).  Harvesting timber in violation of a country's laws may mean conversion to non-forest land uses,  harvesting at rates inconsistent with agreed limits, or in protected areas.

Additionally, there are a number of impacts resulting from illegal timber harvest including loss of biological diversity; loss of government revenue; increasingly deficient governance; direct contribution to increased poverty when people lose their resources, and indirectly as a result of a reduction in government revenues; contribution to funding of national and regional conflicts thereby exacerbating them; and distortion of forest product markets, thus reducing incentives for sustainable forest management. Sustainably managed forests also play a critical buffering role in the event of extreme weather events, or longer term climate change. They will therefore help developing countries to adapt to a changing climate, and have the resources to continue to develop sustainably.  

A World Bank report released in August 2006 suggested that USD $10 billion a year is lost to illegal logging activities, with USD $5 billion from that figure representing lost revenue to governments.