About the Alliance

Timber and paper are among the world’s most commonly used and traded commodities. Responsible forest management delivers renewable raw material for a wide range of products, provides livelihood for millions of people and contributes to preserving biodiversity. In many regions, however, illegal logging is having unsustainable impacts. It contributes to deforestation, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions, deprives nations of much needed public revenue, and can lead to social conflict and human rights violations.

To address these challenges, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), launched the Forest Legality Alliance in 2010. The Alliance is an international, multi-stakeholder initiative designed to achieve better forest governance and biodiversity conservation by reducing demand for illegally harvested forest products and increasing the capacity of supply chains to deliver legal wood and paper.

To achieve its goals, the Alliance is pursuing a series of activities:

  • Educate and build capacity among forest product supply chains about emerging demand-side forest legality policies and new tools for increasing transparency and legality.

  • Equip forest product supply chain participants with practical, interactive, and freely accessible tools for exercising due care and keeping illegally harvested forest products out of the market.

  • Demonstrate through a series of pilot tests with volunteer Alliance members that compliance with new demand-side requirements can be feasible and cost-effective, and identify practical ways to reduce and mitigate unintended burdens on importers and producers.

Our Members

Membership in the Forest Legality Alliance is open and transparent. 
 
The current general membership of the Alliance falls into five general categories: private sector, including businesses, firms, and non-profit industry associations; civil society/non-governmental organizations, including conservation organizations and forestry certification standards; service providers, including technical and legal services; academic institutions, including academically affiliated research centers; and certain government entities. Learn more about who our members are, and how to join them, at the Members Page.

Illegal Logging

Illegal logging and trade in associated products can take many forms, from cutting valuable trees in a national park to avoiding taxes and fees. Its negative effects are felt along the entire supply chain. Trade in illegal forest products degrades natural forests, reducing biodiversity and harming local communities. It supports corrupt and criminal activities, undermines the rule of law, and reduces government revenues.
 
For companies that trade in forest products, illegal logging produces an uneven playing field and harms the reputation of the forest sector and of wood as a sustainable raw material.

 

Disclaimer

This website is made possible in part by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the World Resources Institute and the Environmental Investigation Agency and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

Alliance Partners

  • WRI focuses on the intersection of the environment and socio-economic development, going beyond research to put ideas into action, working globally with governments, business, and civil society to build solutions that protect the earth and improve people’s lives.

    www.wri.org

  • The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.

    www.usaid.gov

  • EIA exposes environmental crimes and campaigns against illegal wildlife trade and threats to our global environment, spurring changes in market demand, government policy and enforcement related to global trade in wildlife and environmental products.

    www.eia-global.org