A new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reveals persistent trafficking of illegal timber from Cambodia and Laos into Vietnam.The illegal cross-border trade fuels deforestation and undermines what the report describes as “significant progress” by Vietnam in recent years to clean up its timber supply chains.Multiple mechanisms perpetuate the illicit trade, including the falsification of paperwork, manipulation of harvesting quotas and economic land concessions, and the use of intermediary criminal networks to facilitate the trade, the report says.The report calls on Vietnam’s timber authorities to close regulatory gaps in its timber verification system and urges regional governments to improve levels of independent oversight.
Illegally sourced timber from Cambodia and Laos continues to enter Vietnam’s supply chains despite recent efforts to tighten legality controls, according to a new report from U.K.-based watchdog the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).
Falsified paperwork, manipulated harvesting quotes, and intermixing of timber from multiple sources are just some of the ways well-established criminal networks perpetuate the illicit trade, EIA teams uncovered during a four-year investigation.
