Wagons brimming with logs accumulate in the Siberian railway station of Dalnerechensk, more than 8,000km (4,971 miles) east of Moscow. They are waiting to cross the nearby Chinese border.
Once in China, they will be processed and used for construction or turned into garden furniture and other products to be sold in European and US shops.
More than a third of all Russian logs are smuggled by mafias, a practice that doubled between 2005 and 2007, according to official figures... [Continue]
Protest der Kenyah gegen Holzeinschlag der Samling Timber Company in der Region Baram, Malaysia
Mehr als hundert Mitglieder indigener Kenyah-Stämme aus verschiedenen Langhäusern (Gemeinden), die im Herzen des Kedaya Telang Usan Gebietes in der Region Baram des Staates Sarawak in Malaysia leben, versammelten sich am oberen Moh (Fluß), um gewaltfrei gegen den Holzeinschlag der Samling Timber Company zu protestieren... [Continue]
Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia - A month-long blockade of logging roads by indigenous people in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia set to protest illegal logging on their communal lands is about to be broken up by police.
More than 100 indigenous Kenyah people gathered at the blockade site on the upper Moh River on the island of Borneo claim that the blockade is their only way of calling on representatives of the Samling Timber Company and government authorities to have a consultation and meet with them to listen to their problems and demands... [Continue]
Kupwara, Kashmir, India - The shortage of timber at forest depots in Kupwara and Handwara for past six weeks has delayed construction works and forced consumers to get timber through illegal means.
The non-availability of timber has also rendered the construction work of many government buildings including schools and Panchayat Ghars incomplete in Kupwara... [Continue]
Ghana - Preliminary reports from the ongoing voluntary partnership agreement (VPA) negotiations on how to stop illegal logging and illegal timber trade between Ghana and European Union (EU) have indicated that Ghanas forestry resources and industry were in danger of a hard fall if changes are not made to the current rate of timber harvest in the country... [Continue]
WWF has reiterated its concern over Asia Pulp and Paper's (APP) logging activities in high-conservation-value forest in Indonesia.
A spokeswoman for the conservation organisation said its concerns follow its recently published report on the situation.
WWF has repeatedly levelled allegations of illegal logging in Indonesia at the Singapore-headquartered APP... [Continue]
Kabul, Afghanistan - Environmentalists have warned that the illegal timber industry is threatening the future of Afghanistans woodlands, with large parts of the countrys forests already feared destroyed.
Mass logging has decimated huge areas across the lawless eastern provinces bordering Pakistan, increasing the risk of flooding and landslides while also enriching warlords... [Continue]
