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 it has put in place all the necessary controls, and refers to the certificates issued by its suppliers.

An insufficiently controlled production chain?
Certificates supplied by the Brazilian administration, sometimes accused of 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, the companies are pursuing their trade with full knowledge of the facts.