Illegal Wood Trade
Illegally sourced and traded timber is linked to social, economic, ecological, and climate issues with the most obvious being deforestation and habitat degradation. While it’s an especially prevalent issue in tropical regions, illegally traded forest products create global problems. Illegal timber entering the international market tends to undercut legitimate harvesters causing them economic losses. The international trade of wood products needs to be monitored in way that most effectively prevents illegal wood trade. Illegal wood trade in this case includes wood derived from protected species or from a protected area, and wood that is economically illegal such as avoiding import taxes or other controls, as they undermine the profits of legitimate wood products by undercutting those products when they enter the market. Attempts at preventing illegal timber from entering the market have increased over the years but the problem persists because of the difficulty in detection. CINTRAFOR researchers tackle the issue of illegal wood trade using a multi-pronged approach, including (i) analyzing the effectiveness of international illegal trade legislations, (ii) investigate the role of market players (like wholesalers, manufacturers, and consumers) in mitigating illegal trade, and (iii) detecting illegal trade using machine learning and artificial intelligence.