July 22, 2010

The European Parliament recently banned the sale of illegally-harvested timber in an effort to reduce illegal deforestation and give consumers better assurances about the products they purchase.

The new legislation, which will take effect in late 2012, bans illegally-harvested timber or timber products from the EU market. Currently it is estimated that at least 20 percent of such products come from illegal sources.

To ensure traceability along the supply chain, each timber operator will need to declare from whom they bought timber and to whom they sold it.

Member States will be responsible for applying sanctions, ranging from fines to criminal law penalties. 

Full article. (European Parliament)