WRI launches Forest Legality site

The World Resources Institute have launched a Forest Legality Alliance to support the private sector efforts and policies to reduce trade in illegally harvested wood. The Alliance is a global public-private initiative open to businesses, industry associations, financial institutions and civil society organizations with a stake in legal forest product supply chains.

Illegal logging is acknowledged as a major environmental, social and economic problem by both timber-producing and timber-consuming countries. Countries that are major importers of wood products have begun to address the problem of illegal logging and associated trade with a variety of laws and policies. The Alliance produces innovative practical tools to help forest product supply chains screen out illegal wood.

“Some companies are not aware of the need to ask questions about the wood they are buying or the consequences of letting illegal wood enter their supply chains,” said Craig Hanson, director of WRI’s People and Ecosystems Program. “The Alliance seeks to build confidence that imported wood and paper products are legal. Done right, trade supports environmental protection and the Alliance recognizes the role trade plays in protecting our world’s great forests.”

NEWS RELEASE: Global Alliance Launched to Curb Trade in Illegal Wood

Forest facts

Forest Legality Alliance