Tag: myanmar

Environmental Investigation Agency comments on the draft Guidelines for Overseas Sustainable Forest Products Trade and Investment by Chinese Enterprises

Myanmar’s precious rosewood trees face commercial extinction at the hands of China’s multi-billion dollar ‘hongmu’ reproduction furniture boom. If current trends persist unaddressed, the two most targeted hongmu species in Myanmar could be logged to commercial extinction within as little as three years

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

Research by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) reveals that recently published Government of Myanmar data on log harvests and timber exports during the past 15 years reveals significantly lower than reported global trade in Myanmar logs, suggesting rampant criminality and corruption in the sector.

China the world’s second biggest economy, is effectively standing on the sidelines as its growth devastates forests in a trade worth billions of dollars a year. This report reveals that China is now the single largest international consumer of illegal timber, importing wood stolen by organised criminal syndicates