Timber Theft Prevention

Nearly 60 million indigenous and another 350 million people live in or near forests, depending on them for subsistence and income. Forests are home to at least 80 percent of the world’s remaining terrestrial biodiversity, serve as carbon sinks, protect watersheds, and reduce the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides. Forest industry is a source of economic growth and employment, generating US$186 billion in global trade in primary wood products.

Illegal logging is a serious threat to the sustainability and successful management of forest resources worldwide. Annually, it costs the developing world an estimated US$5 billion in public revenues and contributes to the deforestation and degradation of some 10 million hectares. Surprisingly, little attention has been paid to mobilizing those most closely involved in forest resource management—foresters and forest enterprises—to prevent illegal logging.

This report is premised on illegal logging being a predictable consequence of poor forest management planning and practice. It highlights the need to focus on the basics of good forest planning, resource assessment, and consultation. Building on these, the authors draw on criminology, economics, risk management, and industrial asset security for ideas to protect a wide range of forest products and values.The authors advocate deliberate and analytic efforts by forest managers to identify and target the most serious threats and to address the most vulnerable parts of forest supply chains. While the report describes specific technologies and practices, it emphasizes that timber theft prevention is primarily a matter of planning and creativity that begins with building honest and ethical organizations.

The report recommends that theft prevention be considered "due diligence" by forest managers and identifies regulatory options, fiscal and contractual arrangements, and development assistance options to promote theft prevention. The report will prove a valuable resource for forest managers and enterprises, foresters, policy-makers, law enforcers, and everyone interested in forest issues.