Text: As globalization continues apace, and the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the benefits, like greater access to goods and information, are matched by the costs, such as the increased space for transnational criminal activity. One of the least discussed aspects of this is environmental crime. Global environmental crime is a burgeoning market, worth an estimated $213 billion annually[1]. This environmental crime includes a wide range of illicit activities, such as illegal logging in rainforests, illegal mining of mineral resources, and poaching elephants and rhinoceroses for their ivory. The lack of focus on environmental crime allows criminal organizations to wreak havoc with relative impunity, and nowhere is this truer than in Africa. The pernicious effects of wildlife exploitation are felt across all of Africa, the security implications of which are myriad. Regional stability, armed conflict and terrorism, and global health are all impacted by wildlife exploitation in Africa, with potentially dangerous results not just for Africans, but for people worldwide.
Large illegal logging operation uncovered in Mozambique
[9] ILLEGAL LOGGING & THE EU: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EU EXPORT & IMPORT MARKET OF ILLEGAL WOOD AND RELATED PRODUCTS(Rep.). (2008, April). Retrieved January 17, 2018, from World Wildlife Foundation website: _illegal_logging_april_2008.pdf
Japan stated that promotion of regional initiatives, such as the Asia Forest Partnership (AFP), is essential for achieving SFM. He said the AFP agreed to: harmonize existing initiatives to combat illegal logging; review measures for the rehabilitation of degraded lands; develop minimum standards of legality, timber tracking and chain of custody systems; and create a cooperative customs framework. He encouraged countries to establish a code as a means of strengthening political commitment to SFM.
Workers And Trade Unions stated that combating illegal logging must take precedence over free trade. She also pointed out that as long as social justice issues are ignored forests will remain at risk, and that any future arrangement must incorporate International Labor Organization core labor standards.
Japan preferred a reference to "illegal logging and associated trade" instead of "trade from illegal logging." Cambodia added a reference to forest land encroachment as a cause of deforestation. Morocco, supported by Syria, Iran, Indonesia and Cuba, added text emphasizing the importance of economic growth and achievement of the MDGs for the conservation, management and sustainable development of all types of forests. Syria, supported by Saudi Arabia, Iran and Indonesia, suggested text referring to the special requirements of low-forest-cover-countries.
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