Norway commits $17m to fight the illegal trade in tree logging

The Norwegian Government is stepping up its fight against illegal deforestation.

The government has pledged $17 million (15 million euros) to support the UN and Interpol’s work in stopping environmental crimes.

Interpol estimates that up to $152 billion of tropical forests are illegally cut down every year. This has seriously damaging effects on sustainable development, biodiversity and the livelihoods of indigenous communities.

The new partnership with Norway’s Center for Global Analyses will create a programme designed to address the complex web of criminal activity which allows the high rates of deforestation to take place; from bribes, tax havens and exports.

Illegal deforestation is on the increase and is often tied up with other crimes, such as drug trafficking and money laundering. Interpol has seized an estimated 1 million cubic meters of timber across Africa, Asia and Latin America in recent years.

The three institutions intend to work with countries across Latin American and South East Asia to support law enforcement, investigations and the prosecution of environmental crimes. Strengthening national taskforces has shown to work; Brazil has managed to reduce its illegal activity in the Amazon by 76 percent over the past three decades.

 “It is paramount to scale up and intensify the battle against forestry crimes to reach national climate goals, the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. In collaboration with ambitious partner countries, we will no longer permit criminals to perform massive destruction of tropical forests. Therefore, we will intensify the effort to stop them through this extensive support to tackle forestry crimes.” said Ola Elvestuen, the Norwegian Minister of climate and the environment.

“Protecting the environment’s precious resources is our collective responsibility towards future generations. It is essential that decisive action is taken, and this project provides an effective platform to unite our efforts,” said Interpol’s Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

New data released this week from the independent Global Forest Watch highlighted the near-record levels of lost rainforest in the past year. 2017 saw 29.4 million hectares of lost tree cover, close to the size of Italy.

 

Photo Credit: International Rivers/CC