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In the absence of coordinated multilateral action, many countries seek to address environmental harm occurring in foreign jurisdictions by introducing measures that regulate the importation of certain products. In Australia, the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 (Cth) and the Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 (Cth) prohibit the import of timber that has been harvested in a manner that is contrary to the laws of the harvesting country. One unsettled question is whether the measure is inconsistent with the law of the World Trade Organization. This article considers this question ahead of the Commonwealth Government's 10-year review of the Measure. To this end, the article examines the consistency of the Act with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. The findings of the article are relevant to Australia and to other countries that design and implement measures to regulate the importation of products for environmental objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to evaluate three forthcoming scenarios (continuing of forest management plans, logging ban, and forest management plans halt) in terms of policy change and select the best method based on sustainable forest management strategies in Iranian Hyrcanian forests. For this propose a two-layer evaluation process was considered for choosing the best alternative. Analytic network process as a decision approach is applied with Benefit-Opportunity-Cost-Risk (BOCR) merit. The data were obtained either from the previous research or through questionnaires. The results indicated that the benefits and risks were more important in terms of decision-making, compared to the opportunities and costs. Finally, the scenario of 'continuity of forest management plans' was selected as the most suitable alternative. The decision framework proposed in this study offers a rational means for decision-making of forest policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community monitoring is believed to be successful only where there is sustained funding, legislation for communities to enforce rules, clear tenure rights, and an enabling environment created by the state. Against this backdrop, we present the case of an autonomous grassroots-monitoring network that took the initiative to protect their forest, in a context, where no external incentives and rule enforcement power were provided. The aim was to analyze the socio-demographic and economic backgrounds, motivations and achievements of forest monitors, compared to non-monitors in the same communities. A total of 137 interviews were conducted in four villages bordering Prey Lang forest in Cambodia. We used binary logit models to identify the factors that influenced the likelihood of being a monitor. Results show that there were few (22%, n = 30) active monitors. Active monitors were intrinsically motivated forest-users, and not specifically associated with a particular gender, ethnicity, or residence-time in that area. The most common interventions were with illegal loggers, and the monitors had a general feeling of success in stopping the illegal activities. Most (73%, n = 22) of them had been threatened by higher authorities and loggers. Our results show that despite the lack of power to enforce rules, absence of external funding and land-ownership rights, and enduring threats of violence and conflicts, autonomous community monitoring may take place when community members are sufficiently motivated by the risk of losing their resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast and efficient alternative methods for wood species identification are needed to combat illegal logging and to control fair trade. One of the possibilities of rapid wood recognition is via chemiresistor gas sensor arrays (“electronic nose”), the application of which is described in the present paper. Carbon nanotube composites (CNTs) of eight insulating polymers were prepared through solution processing and spin casting. The optimum amount of CNTs in the composites was determined by resistance measurement and the CNTs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. In the case of static headspace analysis, the sensor responses were reproducible and discernible for the wood species. This was demonstrated based on five wood species (Pterocarpus indicus, Acacia auriculiformis, Gmelina arborea, Vitex parviflora and Diospyros philippinensis). Discrimination of the data was achieved through principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). PCA score plots and groupings in HCA dendrograms rendered possible the discrimination of these wood species. The potential application of the sensor array approach for wood species identification is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cinnamomum kanehirae Hay. is endemic in Taiwan and is severely threatened due to intensive utilization and illegal logging. To combat illegal logging, suitable identification markers are needed, which are usable in a court of law, such as microsatellite marker for genotyping. In the present paper, a genetic fingerprinting database was generated based on 15 microsatellites, which are suitable to assess the timber's origin and its population genetic structure. The quality of DNA extractions from C. kanehirae timbers was assessed by comparing cpDNA trnL-trnF sequence lengths. The cumulative probability of identifying unrelated individuals in these microsatellites was 5.151 x 10-17. The results indicate that the low genetic diversity is a consequence of illegal logging and that there is a significant genetic differentiation among C. kanehirae populations. It was possible to trace back the geographical origin of unknown C. kanehirae timbers based on a genetic reference database, i.e. all blind wood samples were assigned to their true geographical origins. Accordingly, microsatellites are a useful tool to identify the population origins of timbers and can be considered as a tool for combating illegal logging of C. kanehirae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tà Xùa and Xuân Nha special-use-forests (SUF) are located in Son La, one of two provinces chosen to pilot test the PES in Vietnam. Since 2009, Tà Xùa has received PES from 119,970 to 263,785 VND/ha per year. On the other hand, Xuân Nha SUF received a 5-year-fixed payment of 100,000 VND/year per ha from the forest protection system that was launched in 2015 by the Vietnamese government. To assess the effectiveness of forest protection in Tà Xùa and Xuân Nha, 21 authorities and 190 local people were interviewed and 28 group discussions were conducted. The effect on forest protection was observed by using transect walks. In both SUFs, the Management Boards (MBs) signed contracts with local Village MBs who are responsible for managing, and enforcing forest regulations. In 7a Xùa, MBs had not developed a comprehensive forest protection plan with criteria for checks. Local people's awareness of SU F management regulations and PES requirements remained weak, illegal logging still prevailed and high-valued timber continued to dwindle. In contrast, the relative small support in Xuân Nha, a forest with less high value timber, resulted in a comprehensive plan for the SUF and local governments successfully promoting forest protection through the local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of international efforts aimed at reducing illegal logging on bilateral trade of forest products between China and its partner countries. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis is conducted using an extended gravity model, where the regulations enforced in different countries, as well as bilateral agreements between China and its trade partners on combating illegal logging are included as explanatory variables. The impacts of the efforts against illegal logging on bilateral trade of forest products are examined based on the estimated coefficients of these policy variables. Findings – The results show that the regulations have significant and positive effects on the bilateral trade of total forest products between China and its partner countries. The bilateral agreement on combating illegal logging between showed a negative effect on the bilateral trade of forest products. A further study of three types of forest products shows that the regulations have a negative effect for roundwood, but a positive effect for furniture and wood-based panels. The bilateral agreement, on the other hand, affects negatively the trade of all the three forest products. Practical implications – Since the export of roundwood from China is negligible, the results from this study imply that international efforts to reduce illegal logging have caused reduction of the import of roundwood into China. China’s wood processing industry is to a high degree dependent on imported roundwood. To secure timber supply is therefore an important strategy for sustainable development of the wood processing industry in China. Originality/value – To the knowledge, this is the first comprehensive assessment of the impacts of international efforts to reduce illegal logging on forest products trade flow between China and its partner countries. The results provide important scientific bases for decisions on reducing international trade of illegally sourced wood products and on promoting sustainable development of the wood processing industry in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulations on illegal logging issued by EU, USA and Australia etc. affect the international forest product trade which includes China. Based on the questionnaire survey, stakeholder' s interview and field investigation, the paper analyses the Chinese enterprises ' response to the trade demand of international legal forest products including the awareness, impact, market demands, measures, challenges and also the policy proposed to respond to demands of international legal forest product trade. The results indicate that there are still many challenges and difficulties for Chinese companies to meet the demands, and it is necessary to provide more support from the policy, technique, administration and capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of International Forestry Review is the property of Commonwealth Forestry Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Raised public concern in the European Union (EU) about the legality of its timber imports has pushed the European Commission to raise its standards and legality demands for wood imports. Combining literature reviews, structured interviews and trade data analyses, this study assesses the potential influence from Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) (with its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) system and new legislation EU Timber Regulation (EUTR)), and third party verification schemes on the timber trade between tropical countries and Europe. These instruments have the potential to reduce the amount of illegally sourced timber being placed on the market, and they seem to have resulted in both increasing support of legality verification and certification uptake. However, there are signs of increased ambiguity in trade that could originate as a side effect of the transition towards a stricter regulation for tropical timber. Such ambiguity is explicitly taken into account here. Possible consequences from increased ambiguity are substitution of oak lumber for tropical hardwood lumber, and a diversion of exports of tropical timber to destinations with a less stringent regulatory framework than the EU. Evidence of these trade patterns in the literature reviews, interviews, and trade data analyses seems to confirm that ambiguity in international trade markets has actually increased since the introduction of these instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the forest management in India. It states that due to the need for wood and bamboo after Indian Independence, the government created a forest department and stated that the Aravalli forest will be under national protection. It notes that forest guards have been hired to forbid illegal cutting, even the villagers continue to collect wood for their own use. Moreover, various photographs which shows the forests in India taken in 1962, 1994, and 2012 are also presented.

A new species of palm-pitviper of the genus Bothriechis is described from Refugio de Vida Silvestre Texíguat in northern Honduras. The new species differs from congeners by having 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody, a bright green dorsal coloration in adults, the prelacunal scale fused to the second supralabial, and in representing a northern lineage that is sister to B. lateralis, which is distributed in Costa Rica and western Panama and is isolated from the new taxon by the Nicaraguan Depression. This represents the 15th endemic species occurring in Refugio de Vida Silvestre Texíguat, one of the richest herpetofaunal sites in Honduras, itself being the country with the highest degree of herpetofaunal endemism in Central America. We name this new species in honor of a Honduran conservationist slain in fighting against illegal logging, highlighting the sacrifices of rural activists in battling these issues and the critical importance of conservation in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill, introduced in the Commonwealth Parliament in 2011, gives effect to a 2010 election commitment of the Gillard government to restrict imports of illegally logged timber products into Australia. This article assesses whether the Bill safely navigates the competing norms and values that the international trade and environmental law regimes embody. It finds that while the Bill pursues legitimate environmental purposes, aspects of it raise potential problems of incompatibility with WTO law because it takes a decentralised national standards approach. The article also considers the main regulatory alternative to the Bill, namely the creation of uniform Australian standards for all timber products (embracing both imports and locally produced timber) which would meet minimum requirements of sustainability, biological diversity and pollution control. It is argued that this encounters its own trade law difficulties. The article concludes by placing the trade law issues in the broader political context of WTO dispute settlement, and contends that the Bill has a reasonable chance of operating successfully and stimulating similar regulatory approaches in other timber-importing jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the 2006 U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement, first bilateral trade agreement to recognize and seek to address the pervasive issue of illegal logging. Topics discussed include receipt of Submissions on Environmental Enforcement Matters by Secretariat, addressing wetlands issues and pre-development consultation with local indigenous peoples regarding environmental impacts; pressuring governments to implement and comply with the environmental laws.

The article offers information on initiatives made by the Indonesian government aimed to prevent illegal logging in response to demand from Western countries to show proof their timber imports are legal. Topics covered include auditing process that the government is rolling out for loggers to prove that their wood is harvested within the law, the criticism to the Indonesia's logging permits, and allegations of bribery in getting permits.

The authors discuss governments' plans to prevent the threats of illegal logging. They state that negotiations on the implementation of the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) framework are being conducted. They mention that the REDD+ model involves sustainable management of forests, forest carbon stocks enhancement, and conservation. They add that early warning systems such as optical and radar satellites are needed for REDD+ monitoring.

The article provides details about the increasing instances of illegal logging in Guinea Bissau. Topics reviewed include fees that need to be paid for logging according to local laws and rules on timber export. The author pays special attention to the potential environmental and health consequences of illegal logging activities.