Interpol, the international organization that facilitates police cooperation, has launched an initiative dedicated to fighting "all aspects of forestry crime," including illegal logging and timber trafficking.
Dubbed "Project LEAF"-short for "Law Enforcement Assistance for Forests"-the initiative has five primary objectives, according to Interpol:
- Providing an overview and review of extent, primary geographic locations, routes, causes and structure of networks involved in illegal logging, corruption, fraud, laundering and smuggling of wood products
- Supporting countries in improved enforcement efforts
- Providing training and operational support
- Providing insights into the way organized criminals organize their activities
- Developing best practices for combating REDD-related and forest-related corruption.
"The world is recognizing that illegal logging is neither simply a moral nor a national issue," said David Higgins, Interpol's environmental crime program manager. "Project LEAF will ensure these global laws are supported by global enforcement and that the criminals responsible are brought to justice-no matter their location, movements, or resources."
Even though preliminary work on the project began in 2011, Interpol announced the launch of the program on June 5, World Environment Day. The initiative is a partnership between Interpol and the United Nations Environment Program; funding for the program comes from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
The impetus for the program, Interpol said, is protecting the 1.6 billion people who rely on forests for fuel, food, medicine and shelter; 90 percent of those live below the dollar-a-day poverty line. What's more, illegal loggers destroy biodiversity and contribute to climate change.
