Organized crime trade in illegal timber responsible for up t
http://www.bikyamasr.com/78556/organized-crime-trade-in-illegal-timber-responsible-for-up-to-90-of-tropical-deforestation/
ROME: Between 50 to 90 percent of logging in key tropical countries of the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia is being carried out by organized crime threatening efforts to combat climate change, deforestation, conserve wildlife and eradicate poverty.
Globally, illegal logging now accounts for between 15 and 30 per cent of the overall trade, according to a new report from the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and INTERPOL.
Forests worldwide bind Carbon Dioxide and store it – known as Green Carbon – and help mitigate climate change. However deforestation, largely of tropical rainforests, is responsible for an estimated 17 percent of all man-made emissions – 50 percent more than that from ships, aviation and land transport combined.
The Rapid Response Report entitled “Green Carbon: Black Trade” says that the illegal trade, worth between US$30-100 billion annually, hampers the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) initiative – one of the principal tools for catalyzing positive environmental change, sustainable development, job creation and reducing emissions.
With the increase in organized criminal activity, INTERPOL has also noted associated crimes such as murder, violence and atrocities against indigenous forest dwellers.
The report concludes that without an internationally coordinated enforcement effort, illegal loggers and cartels will continue to shift operations from one haven to another to pursue their profitable trade at the expense of the environment, local economies and even the lives of indigenous peoples.
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