Green Carbon, Black Trade

#4

#5

LOGGING IN EXCESS OF PERMIT OR CONCESSION QUOTAS

LOGGING WITH FORGED OR RE-USED PERMITS

Another common scam is to forge a permit. In some places, per- mits may be hand-written, easily reproduced or have the dates changed. With very few resources for enforcement and many operators, an inspecting forestry officer or ranger would have to consult multiple offices and files in order to cross-check the au- thenticity of a permit. The officer may even be denied access to official records or have no means to access them by phone or in person over long distances and with limited funds. Bribery of of- ficials is a further challenge. Furthermore, a company may sim- ply copy many permits and, without accurate borders, it becomes very difficult to check. Finally, as operators may change, passing on or resale of permits is not uncommon. Thus, one company may log an area for a certain volume, then move on to the next, and sell the permit to a second party who will then extract a simi- lar volume of timber from the original area on the same permit. These permit sales may also involve forgery of eco-certification.

One of the most common ways to conduct illegal logging is for a company to obtain a legal permit to harvest timber and simply exceed the legal volume or, as permits are normally issued for a geographic area, to cut beyond this area. This is quite easy, as permits may not include an accurate de- scription and coordinates of the area to be cut, and there are few resources available to cross-check or monitor either the amount extracted or the area actually logged. Without a joint master map and with many concessionaires often operating in one region, it is difficult to monitor, trace or cross-check the areas logged. Accurate information on borders, conces- sions and operating companies is not available for cross- check on the ground, by air or remotely. Furthermore, as companies have a legal permit for part of what they cut, they can simply mix legal with illegal timber and thus launder the illegal logs on the spot.

One of the most common ways to conduct illegal logging is to obtain a legal permit and simply exceed the legal volume.

Another common scam is to forge a permit.

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