Organized Crime Trade Worth over US$30 Billion Responsible for up to 90% of Tropical Deforestation

Report Spotlights Almost 30 Ways of Procuring and Laundering Illegal Timber Compromising Security, Climate Mitigation and Sustainable Development Efforts

Between 50 to 90 per cent of logging in key tropical countries of the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia is being carried out by organized crime threatening efforts to combat climate change, deforestation, conserve wildlife and eradicate poverty.

Globally, illegal logging now accounts for between 15 and 30 per cent of the overall trade, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and INTERPOL.

Forests worldwide bind Carbon Dioxide and store it - known as Green Carbon - and help mitigate climate change. However deforestation, largely of tropical rainforests, is responsible for an estimated 17 per cent of all man-made emissions - 50 per cent more than that from ships, aviation and land transport combined.

See full Press Release: http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?DocumentID=2694&ArticleID=9286&l=en