There’s a $100 billion global market for stolen wood, and ancient trees are the high-ticket items, according to a story from Smithsonian Magazine that dives deep into illegal logging around the world.
Somewhere between 15–30 percent of the global timber trade happens on the black market and is linked to organized crime, the report said, adding that the value of illegally logged trees is estimated to be from $30–$100 billion.
The payoff from poachers is hefty. An enormous old-growth cedar, for example, can be sold for $20,000, according to the report.
The full article, which also examines anti-illegal logging strategies and tree forensics, can be read at Smithsonianmag.com.
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