UK government backs Progressio’s illegal logging campaign

The British government has come out in support of Progressio’s campaign to stop illegal logging in poor countries and the importation of illegal wood into the UK and EU.

“We agree that effective legislation is urgently needed,” said the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on its website.

On a web page giving information about current campaigns relevant to DEFRA, it said: “The UK Government is working nationally and internationally to address illegal logging and promote sustainable forest management.

“We recognise the causes of illegal logging are complex – linked to poverty, corruption and failures of governance and markets.

“There is no single solution to the problem and we are therefore implementing a range of actions.”

Progressio has been campaigning to end the importation and sale of illegally logged wood in the UK. Illegal logging is a dangerous and corrosive industry that threatens the livelihoods of local people and weakens their democratic systems. Some 60 per cent of all the tropical wood sold in Britain comes from illegal logging sources.

Not only does illegal logging destroy the environment, it worsens the effects of climate change, undermines people’s rights, makes people homeless and threatens wildlife. It also fosters other criminal activities such as drug trafficking.

Progressio has been calling for UK and Europe-wide legislation to make the sale of such wood illegal. And it looks like your efforts are making the Government listen.

In its comments on its website, DEFRA said it would be supporting EU-wide legislation. “[This] will be much more effective than a single country acting alone,” it said.

Progressio is making a detailed response to a DEFRA consultation on EC proposals to regulate timber sales, and will continue to push decision makers, at the UK and EU level, to strengthen the current EU legislation proposal for regulating timber and its products within the EU market.

If you are concerned about illegal logging, please send an email now to your local MEPs.