Illegal wood imports: convictions begin to mount

 

Exotic wood: French companies nabbed

French sawmills convicted of illegally importing wood from Amazonia. Convictions for lack of due diligence.
What’s involved?
Thousands of hectares razed to the ground. In the Amazon, the forest continues to retreat a little more each year. According to several environmental associations, some of the wood resulting from deforestation ends up here in France. For the first time, a sawmill has just been fined 20,000 euros for importing Ipé wood, an exotic species derived from a tree that grows mainly in Brazil. The company has lodged an appeal, but its director believes that all the necessary controls have been put in place, and refers to the certificates issued by his suppliers.

An insufficiently controlled production chain?

Certificates supplied by the Brazilian administration, accused of sometimes being falsified, in a country where corruption is massive. A second company was also fined 100,000 euros, before appealing. This court decision is based on European regulations. These require companies to minimize the risks of sourcing products derived from deforestation. Ipé wood is often extracted in the Brazilian state of Para, a region severely affected by deforestation. According to environmental associations, the production chain is not sufficiently controlled. In their view, companies continue to trade with full knowledge of the facts.