Between $10 and $15 billion is generated annually by illegal loggers, and a new World Bank report released Tuesday details how countries can effectively fight illegal logging through the criminal justice system, punish organized crime, and trace and confiscate those profits.
"We need to fight organized crime in illegal logging the way we go after gangsters selling drugs or racketeering," said Jean Pesme, manager of the World Bank Financial Market Integrity team that helps countries implement legal and operational frameworks to combat illicit financial flows.
The report, "Justice for Forests: Improving Criminal Justice Efforts to Combat Illegal Logging," reiterates the fact that every two seconds, an area of forest the size of a football field is clear-cut by illegal loggers around the globe. The World Bank said that to be effective, law enforcement needs to look past low-level criminals-who are often in poverty-and seek where illegal-logging profits end up.
In its report, the World Bank said current preventative actions have fallen short and have not had a significant impact. To stem the tide of illegal logging, countries need integrated criminal justice programs that target large-scale operations often tied to organized crime. Also, cooperation among domestic agencies should be improved, and civil society groups should be brought into the fold to help governments.
"Preventive actions against illegal logging are critical. We also know that they are insufficient," said Magda Lovei, Sector Manager at the World Bank. "When implemented, the recommendations of this publication can have a strong deterrent effect that has been missing in many actions taken against illegal loggers."
