It’s no big secret that our nation has been fighting a “war on drugs” for decades. Drug lords in other regions of the globe run tight smuggling rings to ensure that their products cross the border to feed the US demand. Much like the drug trade, timber barons in countries like Peru, Honduras, Indonesia, and China run tight smuggling rings to ensure that high-priced timber reaches the US market. People can purchase high quality wood products or cheap “do-it-yourself” furniture without knowing they are supporting tree smuggling. Enter the US Lacey Act: the world’s first ban on illegal wood. Even though the Lacey Act outlaws this trade, it is up to all of us to actively enforce it.
What do drugs and trees have in
common? Examining the US Lacey
Act
By Anne Middleton
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2009 CONDUCIVE
What is the Lacey Act?
The recently amended U.S. Lacey Act is the world’s first ban on commerce of illegally sourced plants and plant products, making our country the global leader in fighting illegal logging and timber trade. Passed on May 22, 2008, the amendment changes a 100-year-old statute fighting wildlife trafficking crime, requiring importers of plants and plant products to fill out a declaration form at the border declaring the value, volume, scientific name, and country of harvest origin of their plant product(s).
Illegal logging is extraction of trees in contravention of any state, foreign, or tribal law. Examples of illegal logging include timber theft, logging in a national park or protected area, failure to pay taxes or tariffs on a shipment of logs, or taking logs without proper authorization. An estimated 10% of the annual wood import stream to the U.S. is of illegal origin. Illegal logging rates vary dramatically by exporting country, but estimates made earlier in the decade indicate that upwards of 70-80% of the hardwoods exported from Honduras or Indonesia, for example, were of illegal origin.
Some of our planet’s most beautiful and endangered species depend upon forests where illegal logging is rampant. For example, orangutans in Southeast Asia, Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East, and macaws in Central America all depend on healthy, intact forests to survive. Selective logging and forest degradation can pave the way for clear-cutting and the collapse of entire ecosystems, contributing to the loss of some of our oldest species and losing forever all the benefits they provide. Want to read more on illegal logging? Check out the EIA reports page.
Until the Lacey Act amendments passed, the most blatantly stolen timber could enter the US with no questions asked. Loggers in Indonesia, for example, could enter a national park (either behind the back of the park officials or by bribing them) and cut down trees, and ship them to China. Once in China, the logs could be transformed into pool cues, picture frames, furniture, and flooring destined for the US market. Once that illegally logged bookshelf or baby crib hits the shelves and makes its way into the back of your Subaru, you’d have no idea that it originated from a National Park in Indonesia where logging destroys critical orangutan habitat. High value species are often listed as endangered, yet the market demand for rosewood guitars, teak flooring, mahogany clocks, and wooden toilet seats (yes, toilet seats) keeps the chainsaws running.
How can I be sure that my wood products are legal?
In the same way that folks are beginning to ask for the origin of their seafood, fair-trade coffee, or free-range meat, you should ask sales representatives and store owners if they know the origin of their wood or if it’s Lacey compliant. If they aren’t sure, it’s a good idea to buy products that are third-party verified/certified such as FSC, SFI, or PEFC (forest sustainability certification schemes) or take your business elsewhere. You can be a good steward of our world’s forests by explaining to them what you do know about the Lacey Act and direct them to good sources of information. Wood can most certainly be a renewable resource when harvested in a sustainable way, and it’s our job as consumers to ask the right questions about our wood products.
Have more questions? Visit www.eia-global.org/lacey and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection website at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, please email me: anne@eia-international.org
Anne Middleton is Environmental Investigation Agency Forest Campaign Outreach Coordinator ©Environmental Investigation Agency 2009. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Environmental Investigation Agency, Inc. This article is for informational purposes only. Persons seeking legal advice on compliance with the Lacey Act statute should consult with a legal professional.
Copyright ©2009 Conducive. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission from CONDUCIVEMAG.COM
