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Forests

Timber-Sourcing from Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

By Marigold Norman, Jade Saunders, Forest Trends
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This paper presents data on the timber products sourced from fragile and conflict-affected states into regulated markets, focusing on the European Union. It argues that political instability and violence inherent to these situations indicates significant likelihood of buying illegal timber. Rather than pulling out, responsible global trade in legal forest products can be an effective way to create rural jobs and promote stability. As such companies wishing to source from fragile and conflict-affected states need to invest significant resources to ensure that timber is legal.