Corruption Fuels Illegal Rosewood Smuggling from Ghana to China

 The China Global South project published on 15 January 2024 a study titled "Lack of Political Will in Ghana Fuels Illegal Rosewood Logging, Smuggling to China" by Nosmot Gbadamosi.  

China is the world's largest deforester of other nations.  Corrupt Ghanian officials and corrupt Chinese businessmen contribute to the problem by illegally logging valuable rosewood in Ghana and smuggling it to China.  

Russian Government Taking Control of Wagner Group in Africa

 The Washington Post published on 18 September 2023 an article titled "In Wagner's Largest African Outpost, Russia Looks to Tighten Its Grip" by Rachel Carson and Barbara Debout.

Following the death of Wagner Group leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the Russian government is moving to take direct control over the more than 1,000 mercenaries in the Central African Republic.  Russia's defense minister and head of the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU, recently visited the CAR, Mali, and Burkina Faso to explain that the Wagner Group is now under government control.  

Departure of Wagner Group Mercenaries from the Central African Republic

 Reuters published on 8 July 2023 an article titled "Central African Republic Says Wagner Group Troop Movement Is Rotation Not Departure" by Judicael Yongo.  

A spokesperson for the Central African Republic presidency said the departure of hundreds of Wagner Group mercenaries is a rotation of forces and not a "definitive departure."

DRC: Illegal Mining and Logging by Chinese Companies

 The Pulitzer Center published on 1 June 2022 an account titled "Chinese Companies Linked to Illegal Logging and Mining in Northern DRC" by Gloria Pallares.

This is an account of illegal mining and logging by Chinese-owned companies in the northern DRC.  Working with corrupt Congolese officials, the companies ignore local laws, environmental concerns, and human rights practices.  

Illegal Chinese Timber Merchants Untouchable in Mozambique

 The China Africa Project posted on 7 October 2021 a brief interview titled "How Illegal Chinese Logging Fuels the Islamic Insurgency in Mozambique" with Cliff Mboya and Henry Tugendhat.  

China imports over 90 percent of Mozambique's hardwood timber.  Chinese traders purchase illegally harvested timber from across the country.  Due to corruption in Mozambique, Chinese timber traders are considered to be "untouchable" when called to account.  

Illegal Chinese Mining and Logging in Sierra Leone

 The Sierra Leone Telegraph published on 20 June 2021 an investigative report titled "Massive Illegal Chinese Goldmining Uncovered in Eastern Sierra Leone" by James Fallah-Williams.

The report uncovered massive, industrial-scale illegal Chinese gold mines and illegal logging in Sierra Leone.  

Chinese Company Environmental Impacts on Africa

 The South China Morning Post published on 20 September 2020 an article titled "China Lectures Zimbabwe on Environmental Duty and Transparency after Permits to Mine Park Cancelled" by Jevans Nyabiage.

The article looks more broadly at the environmental impact of mining and logging activities in Africa by Chinese companies.  

Zambian Officials and Chinese Businessmen Illegally Export Rosewood to China

The Environmental Investigation Agency recently published a report titled "Mukula Cartel: How Timber Tafficking Networks Plunder Zambian Forests."

Senior Zambian officials have reportedly orchestrated and facilitated massive trafficking operations that are driving mukula rosewood trees to the edge of commercial extinction, devastating vulnerable forests, and threatening communities' livelihoods. The State-owned company Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation Limited (ZAFFICO) is secretly used as a cover for well-connected Zambian officials and Chinese business operators to export thousands of mukula logs, despite a ban on their export. The overwhelming majority of the logs goes to China. This expose quotes Chinese entrepreneurs who engage in bribery to facilitate the exports.

China in Cameroon's Forests

The International Institute for Environment and Development published in 2019 a major report titled "China in Cameroon's Forests: A Review of Issues and Progress for Livelihoods and Sustainability" by James Mayers, Samuel Nguiffo, and Samuel Assembe-Mvondo.

China is Cameroon's biggest timber buyer and prefers raw logs, which account for about 85 percent of the total volume of timber exported to China. Chinese trade and investments in the forest sector have led to unsustainable practices by some companies, illegal logging, violation of laws, and poverty among the rural population.

Chinese Companies Export Timber Illegally from Gabon and Congo; US and Europe Buy Finished Product

The Environmental Investigation Agency published on 25 March 2019 a report titled "Toxic Trade: Forest Crime in Gabon and the Republic of Congo and Contamination of the US Market."

The Dejia Group, affiliated companies controlled by the Chinese mogul Xu Gong De, harvest, process, and export mostly to China illegally-sourced okoume trees from the tropical forests of Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The US importer Evergreen Hardwoods purchases veneer produced from these trees that makes its way to the American consumer. The Dejia Group has also placed hundreds of thousands of tons of timber products in European countries such as France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, and Greece.

Ghanaian Rosewood Exports to China Threaten Species

Ghanabusiness.com recently posted a detailed account titled "China's Lust for Rosewood Fuels Logging in Ghana's Poorest Region" by Emmanuel K. Dogbevi.

Demand for rosewood in China has grown exponentially over the past 15 years. Ghana is the second largest source, after Nigeria, of rosewood exported to China from West Africa. Ghana has put a ban on cutting down rosewood trees but not on collecting and exporting wood that has fallen on its own. This has not prevented, however, the massive cutting of trees by local Ghanaians who are protected by local politicians. Nearly all of the wood is exported to China by local Chinese companies.

At the current rate of harvesting, it is estimated rosewood will disappear from this part of Ghana in three years. The unrestrained harvesting is having a negative impact on the fragile ecology of the savannah regions of Ghana and other West African countries where it is found.

Chinese Business Interests in Nigeria

The US Institute of Peace published in September 2018 a study titled "The Intersection of China's Commercial Interests and Nigeria's Conflict Landscape" by Matthew T. Page.

Nigeria remains a challenging business environment, even for risk-tolerant Chinese entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, many Chinese-owned small businesses and larger companies have prospered. At the same time, the practices of some Chinese companies such as bribery and involvement in illegal mining, logging and fishing are potentially destabilizing.

Chinese Engagement in the East and Southern African Timber Trade

Traffic published in February 2017 a major report titled "Overview of the Timber Trade in East and Southern Africa: National Perspectives and Regional Trade Linkages" by Kahana Lukumbuzya and Cassian Sianga.

The report covers numerous issues concerning the timber trade in east and southern Africa. China is the single most important importer of timber coming from this region. The report offers useful insights on China's role in this trade and the challenges faced by African exporting countries, especially the DRC, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Chinese Demand for Bloodwood Raises Environmental Issues in DRC

Sixth Tone, an online publication in China that belongs to the state-funded Shanghai United Media Group, published on 20 January 2017 an article titled "Chinese Demand for Bloodwood Cuts into Congo's Ecosystem" by Shi Yi.

Bloodwood or rosewood is the common name for the mukula tree. The red-tinted wood is used in China to manufacture high grade furniture. About ten Chinese-owned bloodwood trading companies operate out of Lubumbashi, some of the companies having left Zambia because of stricter environmental laws or diminishing availability of the mukula tree. Environmentalists and some DRC officials are beginning to express concern at the impact on forests by the cutting of the tree. DRC laws ban foreigners from operating logging concessions but a combination of corruption and desire by local officials to create jobs for African wood cutters has ignored the ban. The government of China has put in place reasonable voluntary guidelines for Chinese timber companies, but these guidelines are often ignored. Chinese companies can import the timber into China so long as they provide documents to show it was exported legally--documents that can be purchased easily in the DRC. At some point, the timber will be gone and the logging will end, with a negative impact on the DRC's ecosystem.

China-Africa Forest Trade and Investment

The International Institute for Environment and Development published in October 2016 a study titled "China-Africa Forest Trade and Investment: An Overview with Analysis for Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Uganda" by Andreas Wilkes.

The study provides an overview of trends, evidence and issues related to the impacts on forests of Chinese investments in Cameroon, DRC, Mozambique and Uganda. It explains Chinese overseas investment policies and presents data on trends in forest-related trade and investment in these four countries. It highlights issues of concern and opportunities for engaging with Chinese and African stakeholders to support improved forest governance.

China Needs to Step Up Efforts to Curb Illegal Logging in Africa

Greenpeace posted on 24 June 2016 a commentary titled "Loud Alarm Bells for Growth in Environmental Crime, Who Is Listening?" by Hilde Stroot. While the European Union, Australia, and the United States have introduced legislation to tackle the issue of illegal timber exports, which heavily impacts tropical Africa, China has so far only introduced voluntary measures.

China's Response to Importation of Illegal Timber

Chatham House published in December 2014 a study titled "Trade in Illegal Timber: The Response in China" by Laura Wellesley, a research associate at Chatham House.

The report concludes that the government of China has made notable progress in its efforts to tackle illegal logging and the associated trade.  It has also developed guidance for Chinese companies operating overseas to promote sustainable forest products trade and investment.  Nevertheless, illegal trade remains a significant problem.

Since 2000, there has been a marked increase in high-risk imports of high-value hardwood logs, particularly rosewood, from the Mekong region and African countries such as Mozambique, Benin, The Gambia, and Ghana.  Another cause for concern is the continued, and in some cases increased, import of logs into China from countries in which a log export ban is in place--namely, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire.

A Chinese translation of this report is also available.

Zambia and the Chinese Timber Trade

International Forestry Review recently published an article titled "Rural Livelihoods and the Chinese Timber Trade in Zambia's Western Province" by P. Asanzi, L. Putzel, D. Gumbo and M. Mupeta.  It concluded that both Chinese and non-Chinese logging companies bring limited benefits to rural communities.  Non-Chinese logging companies provided more local employment opportunities but Chinese logging companies outbid their non-Chinese counterparts in the local timber market, providing greater opportunities to small-scale loggers.   

Illegal Logging in Mozambique: The Role of Chinese Companies

The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) published in July 2014 a report titled "First Class Crisis: China's Criminal and Unsustainable Intervention in Mozambique's Miombo Forests."  EIA pointed out that on average over the past seven years, 81 percent of all logging in Mozambique was illegal.  Between 2007 and 2013, 93 percent on average of the timber exports were shipped to China.  EIA charges that corruption and ineffective governance in both Mozambique and China's business sector are a structural impediment to resolving the crisis. 

The Africa-China Timber Trade

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) published in March 2014 a report titled "The Africa-China Timber Trade."  China is the largest importer of tropical wood and is the source of three-quarters of Africa's exports.  While logging companies and traders operate according to local standards, CIFOR found that the environmental and social impacts vary considerably from country to country.  In addition, illegally harvested timber finds its way to China through complex networks.