Laws & Policies
Illegal logging continues in part because consumers did not distinguish between legally and illegally sourced forest products. This is now changing, as a number of consumer countries take steps to encourage the trade of legal wood and support the enforcement of forest laws in wood-producing countries.
These initiatives take different approaches to illegal wood, but they all share the same aim: to shift consumer demand, and thus production, to legal forest products through the power of market access and potential penalties.
E.U. FLEGT and Due Diligence
FLEGT, or Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade, is a regulation passed in 2003 to eliminate the E.U. market for illegal timber and support timber-producing countries’ efforts to fight illegal logging. An important new regulation requiring timber importers to demonstrate due diligence is currently being finalized.
U.S. Lacey Act
The Lacey Act is a 1900 United States law that bans trafficking in illegal wildlife. In 2008, the Act was amended to include plants and plant products such as timber and paper. This landmark legislation is the world’s first ban on trade in illegally sourced wood products.
Procurement Policies
Many companies and industry associations have programs to support responsible procurement of wood products, and an increasing number of governments worldwide have established sourcing standards for the wood products they purchase.