Indonesia Scraps Licenses for Wood Exports, Causing Fears of Illegal Logging Surge

Indonesia has ended a regulation requiring timber companies to have export licenses certifying their wood was harvested legally, Mongabay reports.

The country’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, which oversees the logging industry, told Mongabay it was not consulted when Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade scrapped the rule. The forestry ministry said it intends to request a new regulation be enacted in place of the scrapped rule.

The licensing procedure for wood exports was under development for a decade before it went into effect in 2009. The regulation was met with opposition from furniture producers who argued the process was costly and time-consuming, according to the report.