Chinese Company Responsible for Illegal Logging in DRC

 Global Witness published in October 2023 a report titled "Puncturing the Second Lung of the World."

An international non-governmental organization with offices in London and Washington, Global Witness has uncovered evidence that shows China-linked timber company Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development is responsible for illegal logging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, exporting more than $5 million worth of illicit timber to China between June and December 2022.

Cameroon, Nigeria, China and Illegal Rosewood

 Africa Uncensored, an independent media house in Kenya, published in February 2022 an investigative report titled "Timber Logging and Crime: How Rosewood Is Stolen in Cameroon, Laundered in Nigeria, and Exported to China" by Christian Locka.

Cameroonian woodcutters illegally cut rare rosewood and then transport it to Nigeria for final shipment to China.  Strong Chinese demand has resulted in organized looting of rosewood forests in several African countries.

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.  

Chinese Timber Companies in Mozambique Destabilize Northern Region

 War on the Rocks published on 23 September 2021 a commentary titled "Al-Shabaab and Chinese Trade Practices in Mozambique" by Henry Tugendhat and Sergio Chichava.  

China's limited action and inability to control illegal timber practices by Chinese companies in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado region are fundamentally destabilizing a state that needs more support.  

Chinese Forest-risk Financing

 The Rainforest Action Network commissioned a report titled "Chinese Banks' Forest-risk Financing: Financial Flows and Client Risks."

The report provides an overview of the financing of forest-risk companies engaged in six deforestation-risk commodities in Brazil, Central and West Africa, and Southeast Asia by Chinese financial institutions, which are the second largest financiers of forest-risk companies covered by the database.  Between January 2016 and April 2020, Chinese financial institutions provided about $15 billion in forest-risk loans and underwriting services.  Central and West Africa accounted for $2.8 billion of this total, mainly for rubber and timber.  

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 Caught Up in Gabonese Timber Scandal

Al Jazeera posted on 22 May 2019 a story titled "Gabon President Ali Bongo Sacks Vice President, Forestry Ministry."

The sackings came after it was discovered that $7.8 million worth of rare hardwood timber were found in two depots in Libreville belonging to Chinese companies. The rare wood was falsely labeled as a variety that has been cleared for export, presumably to China.

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.

China in Mozambique's Forests

The Institute for Environment and Development published in 2018 a major study titled "China in Mozambique's Forests: A Review of Issues and Progress for Livelihoods and Sustainability" edited by Duncan Macqueen.

China is the destination for about 93 percent of all Mozambique's timber exports. Concerns have been raised over the impact of these patterns of investment and trade for Mozambique's forests and the development of rural populations. This study compiles three years of work of the China-Africa Governance Project to develop evidence on constraints and opportunities for forest resources in productive and resilient land use and trade, to develop capacity and dialogue among relevant stakeholders in China and Mozambique, and to deliver policy and practice improvement opportunities.

China-Africa Forestry Cooperation

The International Institute for Environment and Development, which works in China, Cameroon, DRC, Mozambique, and Uganda, posted on 20 November 2017 the presentations from its October 2017 fourth international meeting in Mozambique of the China-Africa Forest Governance Learning Platform.

The posting includes the following slide presentations:

--Changes in China's Policy and Actions on China-Africa Forest Products Trade.
--Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese Timber Businesses in the Congo Basin.
--Insights of Chinese Forestry Investment in Zambia - Opportunities and Challenges.
--Zanzibar Declaration on Illegal Trade in Timber and Other Forest Products: Progress Made.
--Mozambique-China Cooperation on Forest and Timber Issues: Progress Made.
--NGOs Work in Cameroon with Companies Exporting Timber to China: Lessons Learned.
--Private Sector View of the Changes in Mozambique.
--Government View of Forest Sector Changes in Mozambique.
--Sustainable Processing of Wood in Uganda and the Chinese Market: Opportunities and Challenges.
--Forest Investment Program Support for the Forest Sector in Mozambique.
--China's Training Aid for African Forestry: Progress, Problems and Prospects.

Nigeria, China, and the Rosewood Racket

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a London and Washington-based environmental advocacy organization, published in October 2017 a report titled "The Rosewood Racket: China's Billion Dollar Illegal Timber Trade and the Devastation of Nigeria's Forests."

Most of the billion dollars' worth of wood exported by Nigeria over the past four years was illegal. According to EIA, Chinese businessmen and Nigerian officials were largely responsible for these illegal exports to China.

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.

The Environmental Impact of China's Investment in Africa

The winter 2016 edition of the Cornell International Law Journal includes my study titled "The Environmental Impact of China's Investment in Africa." It is a comprehensive analysis of Chinese and African environmental laws and the impact Chinese foreign direct investment by both state-owned and private companies have had on Africa. While Chinese companies, especially state-owned companies, are improving their environmental practices in Africa, there is still much room for more progress.

China and Africa's Informal Economy

In a 31 March 2015 blog post titled "China-Africa Trade and Investment: Benefiting Africa's Rural Informal Economy?" Xiaoxue Weng makes an important point about the significance of Africa's informal economy, which is estimated to include 50 percent of Africa's total economy.  The author then relates the informal economy to Chinese trade and investment.  

It is critical for Africans and outsiders alike to understand the working of Africa's informal economy.  It performs many useful functions.  But it also has downsides.  It is well known for ignoring even reasonable government regulations. 

I found one quote from a Cameroonian villager especially insightful and worrying: "The government could take away our land and trees any moment, so we'd rather sell all the trees to the Chinese as soon as we can."  It takes hundreds of years to grow some tropical hardwoods to maturity.  This approach by the Cameroonian villager will only devastate the environment for short-term monetary advantage of a few people.  This kind of practice is exactly what African governments and foreign importers need to avoid. 

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.   

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.

Chinese Trade and Investment in the Mozambican Timber Industry

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia published in 2013 a study titled "Chinese Trade and Investment in the Mozambican Timber Industry: A Case Study from Cabo Delgado Province" by Sigrid-Marianella Stensrud Ekman, Huang Wenbin and Ercilio Langa. 

The international trade of Mozambican timber is mainly operated by Chinese companies, which export the timber to the Chinese market, virtually the only market for Mozambican timber.  A large share of the timber industry operates illegally.