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.  

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.

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.  

China Cracks Down on Importation of Endangered Species

The Institute for Security Studies published on 19 August 2019 a commentary titled "China Is Proving Key To Reducing Africa's Wildlife Trafficking" by Duncan E. Omondi Gumba and Richard Chelin.

China's crackdown on the importation of ivory and processing of rhino horns has reduced the illegal trafficking from Africa. The problem has also moved increasingly from East and Southern Africa to West Africa.

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, Africa, and the Pangolin Trade

The Washington Post published on 21 July 2018 an article titled "China's Push to Export Traditional Medicine May Doom the Magical Pangolin" by Simon Denyer.

The pangolin is the world's most trafficked mammal. A million of them are thought to have been poached from the wild in Asia and Africa in just a decade. Trade in the eight species of pangolin is illegal. Demand for them comes primarily from China and Vietnam, where the scales of the pangolin are used in traditional medicine. As a result, the pangolin is fast disappearing from the jungles of Asia and, increasingly, from Africa.

TRAFFIC published in December 2017 a study of pangolin trafficking titled "The Global Trafficking of Pangolins: A Comprehensive Summary of Seizures and Trafficking Routes from 2010-2015."

The report noted that large quantity pangolin shipments come from Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Guinea and Kenya. The primary African countries through which pangolins are trafficked are Nigeria, Cameroon, Guinea, Liberia, Equatoriak Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Togo.

China Rosewood Purchases Providing Little Benefit to Zambia

The Conversation posted on 25 June 2018 a commentary titled "Why Zambia Has Not Benefitted from Its Rosewood Trade with China" by Paolo Omar Cerutti and Davison Gumbo, both with the Centre for International Forestry Research.

There is a huge demand in China for rosewood logs to make antique furniture. Africa, and particularly Zambia, has become a key exporter of rosewood to China. But Zambia's forests are being decimated causing serious environmental degradation. Zambian officials have little incentive to ensure the trade is properly regulated and corruption is rampant.

China Implements Ban on Ivory Imports

World Press Review published on 12 January 2018 an interview titled "China Makes Good on Its Pledge to Curb Elephant Poaching with Ivory Trade Ban" with Grace Gabriel, regional Asia director for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

At the beginning of this year, China implemented a ban on the domestic sale and processing of ivory. As the largest consumer of ivory, this move should significantly reduce the incentives for the poaching and killing of elephants in Africa.

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.

China's Phaseout of Ivory Trade Apparently on Track

Traffic published in August 2017 a report titled "Revisiting China's Ivory Markets in 2017" by Yuankun Zhao, Ling Xu, Yu Xiao, Jing Guan, and Wilson Lau.

China is scheduled to implement a total ban on the ivory trade at the beginning of 2018. The report concludes that in spite of some continuing implementation challenges, the phase out of the domestic ivory trade appears to be on track.

China Bans the Ivory Trade: Cyberspace Poses Challenge

News China magazine published on 1 February 2017 an article titled "A Dark World" by Wang Yan.

While the government of China recently banned the illegal ivory trade, the article points out it will be difficult to enforce the regulation. Illegal ivory traders have moved their business online to WeChat. Social media platforms such as Alibaba and Tencent have made serious efforts to ensure they are not being used to facilitate the illegal wildlife trade but there is no guarantee they can stop all trading activity.

China, African Elephants and the Ivory Ban

The World Wildlife Fund commented on China's recent decision to close down its domestic ivory trade by the end of 2017 in an article dated 30 December 2016 titled "China To Ban Domestic Ivory Trade by 2017."

The South African Institute of International Affairs published in September 2016 an analysis titled "Values, Culture and the Ivory Trade Ban" by Yu-Shan Wu, Stephanie Rupp, and Chris Alden. It deals with the important issue of ending elephant poaching at the source and suggests how policymakers can ensure that international policies gain traction at the local level, where it really matters.

What Do Chinese in South Africa Think of the Ivory Trade?

Foreign Policy published on 13 October 2016 an article titled "What Do Chinese in South Africa Think of the Ivory Trade?" by Zander Rounds, Hongxiang Huang, and Ruirui Gu.

The authors surveyed 428 Chinese residents of Johannesburg. The survey found that Chinese are increasingly aware of the harsh realities underpinning the sale of ivory and rhino horn. But they feel removed from complicity and not interested in taking a stand against it.

China and US Ban Ivory Tade: Cultural Problem Remains in Asia and Africa

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) published in September 2016 a paper titled "Values, Culture and the Ivory Trade Ban" by Yu-Shan Wu, researcher at SAIIA, Stephanie Rupp, City University of New York, and Chris Alden, London School of Economics and Political Science.

China and the US have now both agreed to ban the trade in ivory. Local values and culture in Asia, especially in China, and certain African countries continue to challenge the ability of governments to stop the slaughter of elephants.

Tourism, Illegal Wildlife Trade, Africa, and China

Traffic published on 3 March 2016 an article titled "Tourism Industry in China Says 'No' to Illegal Wildlife Trade." The article comments on the steady increase in Chinese tourism to Africa and the illegal wildlife trade, especially elephant ivory and rhino horn. The Chinese tourist industry has spoken out against the illegal trade, which continues to be a serious problem involving Chinese nationals.

Understanding China and South Africa's Illegal Wildlife Trade

The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) published in October 2015 a paper titled "Not Beating around the Bush: Understanding China and South Africa's Illegal Wildlife Trade" by Yu-Shan Wu, a researcher at SAIIA.

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the complexities that exists in China-South African relations.  It translates into a lack of common understanding in policy spaces on the intrinsic value of wildlife in South Africa.