Chatham House has posted a number of reports looking at the current situation regarding illegal logging in many countries—that’s both buying markets like the U.S., the EU and Japan, and supplying markets like Brazil, Ghana and Indonesia. On a whole, things are looking better. We still have a way to go, but not only do the overall volumes of illegal logging seem to be down, more importantly, the way we’re looking at responding to the situation is improving.
Clearly we can’t just dictate a blanket “don’t cut” to others.
Just as last week’s post showed, the use of natural resources will be an important part of any country’s economic development. The United States created a “Sea of Stumps” in our early years. Hopefully while other countries can learn from our history and avoid some of our mistakes, clearly we can’t just dictate a blanket “don’t cut” to others. We want to focus on finding ways to use the resource responsibly. There needs to be training and investment in government and social infrastructure. Management is the key.
Check the Chatham site for updates on your regions of supply and look for ways to support sustainable management of all our world’s resources.