15 Billion USD a Year Lost

That is what illegal logging cost on the developing countries. And It also “exacerbates climate change, impacts the livelihoods of rural communities and undermines ecological security (resulting in) things like flooding.” Alert Net reported the shocking news of what illegal logging caused to the developing countries and what are lacking in these countries (in Asia); enforcement. 

“Environmental crime is a growing threat to the planet, particularly in Asia. It produces revenues of billions of dollars to criminal groups, yet to date the enforcement against these crimes has been lacking,” Newman said.

Even when seizures of illegally harvested timber or ivory occur, there is often no follow-up, no prosecution and no attempt to break up the networks behind the crimes, he said.

Enforcement is a difficult approach. A country may have sets of legal law and act, however it maybe only legitimate if the law breaker was convicted, bring to court and been penalized. However this is different and difficult in developing countries. The major players that back up the countries economies in Asia are  often are the law breakers that are directly or indirectly link to this illegal logging. 

Set for example, 

"According to EIA, Indonesia had an illegal logging rate of 80 percent in the 1990s, meaning four out of five trees cut were cut illegally. After the government started taking steps to combat the flow of illegal timber in 2005, the rate reduced to about 40 percent, a still-significant but much-improved number.  However, 12 top businessmen engaged in illegal logging and identified by the Indonesian government in 2000, none have been arrested or charged."

Illegal logging does not only meant felling of trees without authorization. It has a wider scope that covers "questioning" areas conserved for protection has been awarded  for logging without necessary paperwork, harvesting areas that are over-logged or probably harvesting area bigger than the allowable size, etc. And of course, lack of transparency.

~Just a thought~

Updated in 26 March 2012

I came across this article on BBC reporting similar amount of cost of loss of illegal logging does to the world. And I just want to quote down updates about since EU FLEGT and US Lacey Act has impose legislation to local company to prove their wood are legally source.

In 2010, a report from the London-based Chatham House think-tank concluded that these and other measures had reduced illegal logging by about a quarter over the preceding eight years.

It is good to see a quantified improvement from the legislation imposed by the Western countries.