In 287 operations carried out by the International Police Organization (Interpol) in 12 countries of Latin America, 1,200 cubic meters of illegal timber worth approximately 700,000 dollars was seized.
It is reported that the illegal timber trade has been increasing in Latin America in recent years, causing many negative consequences from deforestation to global warming, destruction of indigenous habitats, destruction of water resources and food production, and reduction of biodiversity.
It is estimated that timber smuggling, which is within the scope of crimes against the environment, has a volume of 152 billion dollars per year and international organized crime organizations generate half of this amount.
The Latin American and Caribbean region, which hosts half of the world’s biodiversity and a quarter of the forests, is among the most important focal points of both legal and illegal timber trade.
Stating that illegal logging and trade in the region has reached alarming rates, Interpol official Ilana Wild states that such damage to the environment has begun to be felt all over the world and that these activities cause irreparable damage to ecosystems.
Pointing out that illegal activities that cause environmental destruction are in the top three in the ranking of the most committed international organized crimes in the world, Wild says that the income from lumber smuggling is also used to finance other organized crimes, from drugs to weapons.
Interpol officials note that timber smugglers do not limit their activities to one country or region and use modern logistics and financial systems.
Environmental organizations have warned that deforestation activities in the Amazon Forest, which is considered one of the most effective weapons of humanity in the fight against climate change due to its absorption of carbon in the air and the intense humidity it contains, and which spread to 9 Latin American countries, reached the highest levels in the last 15 years, and one of the reasons for this is illegal logging. exists.
The Brazilian Space Research Agency (INPE) reports that forest loss in the Amazon reached 13,235 square kilometers in 2021, an increase of 22 percent compared to the previous year.
According to official sources, 47 percent of the timber trade in Colombia, 40-50 percent in Peru, 21 percent in Ecuador and more than 30 percent in Mexico is done illegally.