In this Investigator blog, one of our investigators recalls his scariest moment of working undercover while on a timber investigation in Asia and being arrested after arousing suspicion. Going undercover is nerve-wracking but it's vital not to be overcome by fear and fully understand the risks involved in the work
It can be a little frustrating (if somewhat predictable) to see our findings dismissed out-of-hand by official mouthpieces for those governments we have cause to identify as either directly promoting harmful, even criminal, environmental policies or turning a blind eye to corruption on their watch
In the name of development, the rich resources of Myanmar’s Mong Pan turned out to be a curse under the military government. Natural resources and forests have been exploited by timber companies in conspiracy with the military government via many destructive logging projects, both legal and illegal
In this special blog for the International Day of Forests, we take a look at the successes of a major European action plan to fight deforestation and illegal timber flows
Wildlife and forest crimes are transnational crimes where corruption is known to play a pivotal role in their facilitation and growth. Annually, illegal wildlife trade alone is estimated to range from $7 billion to $23 billion while illegal timber trade ranges between $30 billion to $100 billion.
Two forest rangers, Sieng Darong and Sab Yoh, have been murdered in Preah Vihear Protected Forest, Cambodia. They were shot by illegal loggers, one of which has been tied to the Cambodian military, with high-powered rifles. The main driver of these crimes is unsustainable demand for rosewood timber in Vietnam and China