Publications

Investment in the Liberian Forest Sector

A Roadmap to Legal Forest Operations in Liberia (English and Chinese)

This briefing document explains why Liberia needed reforms that ensure that logging no longer contributes to conflict in this country and how logging will be conducted under the new law and regulations that govern the management of Liberia’s forests.

Environmental Aspects of China’s Papermaking Fiber Supply

In recent years, China’s expanding pulp and paper sector has become a major influence on the global forests and forest product markets. Since 1990, China has accounted for over 50 per cent the world’s overall growth in paper and paperboard production. To meet growing domestic demand, the government is promoting a new industry based on […]

Recent Developments in Forest Product Trade between Russia and China

Potential Production, Processing, Consumption and Trade Scenarios

China has a very significant role in the global timber market and this has significant ramifications for forests, forest livelihoods and the structure of forest industries around the world. In this report we will focus on possible future trends in the forest products-processing, consumption and trade between China and its main suppliers, with a particular […]

Amendment to the U.S. Lacey Act

Implications for Malaysian Forest Products Exporters

Malaysia is one of the largest producers and suppliers of tropical hardwood and related products destined for the United States. In 2007, the United States imported almost 2.2 m3 RWE of timber products from Malaysia – mostly plywood and furniture – totaling USD$1.1 billion in value. Sabah and Sarawak supply the great majority of the […]

Linking FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements to Jobs and Growth

Potential Challenges and Benefits for Small and Medium Sized Forest Enterprises

This brief report discusses the potential impact of the European Commission’s Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) on the extent to which improved investment and business climates supported by VPA programs can support the small and medium forest enterprise (SMFE) sector. Recognizing the important roles that SMFEs play in rural development and the alleviation of rural poverty, […]

Forest Products Trade Between China & Africa

An Analysis of Imports & Exports

Recent reports of China’s efforts to secure access to natural resources in Africa suggest that timber has already become an important traded commodity between China and the African continent. Many hold a general impression that Africa exports a significant and growing amount of timber to China. However, the true magnitude of the China-Africa forest product […]

Beyond Timber

Certification of Non-Timber Forest Products

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are critical to rural livelihoods in both temperate and tropical areas. They provide communities with important subsistence resources like medicine, food and shelter, as well as a source of cash income. NTFPs are also part of large regional and international markets, and for centuries products such as spices, medicinal plants, fragrances […]

Customs, Concessionaires and Conflict

Tracking Cambodia's Forestry Commodity Chains and Export Links to China

Cambodia has obviously experienced some difficulty in implementing an effective framework of sustainable forest management. Indeed, the Cambodian forest sector can be considered a paradigmatic example of the close links between vast resource wealth on the one hand, and structural conflict and rural violence on the other. From the early to the mid-1990s, Cambodia’s illegal […]

For Services Rendered

The Current Status and Future Potential of Markets for the Ecosystem Services Provided by Tropical Forests

The past decade has seen the widespread emergence of markets and other payment schemes for forest ecosystem services – such as watershed protection, biodiversity protection and carbon sequestration -around the world. At a global scale, several recent reviews indicate that these activities are nascent and still limited in scope and scale, but that they may […]

China’s Forest Product Exports

An Overview of Trends by Segment and Destinations

In only 7 years, China’s timber product exports have tripled in volume and increased fourfold in value. The total volume of all forest product exports – including both timber and pulp and paper products – is now one-third of China’s total forest product import volume. The total volume of only primary timber products (excluding pulp […]