Translation by EIA: Step by Step, Laundering Peruvian Timber

In her December 12, 2014 article, Peruvian journalist Dánae Rivadeneyra details the steps by which Peruvian timber is laundered at alarming rates. Her investigation confirms EIA’s findings, which were published in The Laundering Machine: how fraud and corruption in Peru’s concession system are destroying the future of its forests and includes the key role official forest consultants play in the laundering process.

As Rivadeneyra notes, “Responsible government bodies have ignored this information,” allowing forest consultants to continue producing inaccurate documents that facilitate timber laundering. The Peruvian government’s failure to act, and effectively sanction forest consultants, contributes to illegal logging and the associated environmental and social crisis it has generated in Peru. The recent killings of four Asháninka Indigenous leaders, working to end illegal logging in their communities, highlights the need for more effective national and international action against illegal logging and timber laundering in Peru’s forests.

Click here to read an English translation of Rivadeneyra’s piece, Step by Step: How the to launder illegal timber …with the state’s backing.

Click here for the original Spanish text.