This report examines how timber moves into one of the world’s most important wood-processing hubs - Vietnam. During the past two decades, Vietnam has become a major global exporter of furniture and wood products, supplying markets across Asia, Europe and the US. To support this growth, the country relies not only on its own plantations, but also on timber imported from a wide range of international sources, including neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Laos.
A briefing highlighting serious violations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) by the Government of Vietnam, as evidenced in a formal submission from the Government of Cambodia
Illegal and unsustainable rosewood logging is the major threat to Thailand’s limited remaining forests, particularly in the north-east regions. Unprecedented demand for luxury ‘Hongmu’, or ‘redwood’, furniture in China is driving this logging
Corrupt Government officials and military personnel in Vietnam are complicit in smuggling huge quantities of illegal timber from Cambodia, pocketing millions of dollars in bribes from smugglers for their part in allowing hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of logs stolen from Cambodia’s National Parks
Criminality and corruption have swept a flood of endangered rosewood exports from Laos and Cambodia which fundamentally violate trade protections imposed by the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
Precious Siamese rosewood has been illegally logged to the brink of extinction in the Mekong region to feed a voracious demand for luxury furniture in China which leaves a bloody trail of death, violence and corruption in its wake. This report exposes a multi-billion dollar industry fuelled by high level corruption