Destination China: a companion briefing to Moment of Truth
EIA’s recent report, Moment of Truth, showed that illegality and fraud is pervasive throughout the Peruvian timber sector, and that a great deal of the illegally harvested and traded wood is exported to dozens of countries. In “Destination China: a Companion Briefing to Moment of Truth,” EIA draws on the same data and analysis to highlight the largest destination market for Peru’s illegal timber exports: China. Recent enforcement actions by the US under the Lacey Act have slowed the amount of illegal timber exports from Peru to the US. Exports to China, which lacks a comparable law prohibiting the import of illegal timber, continue to grow.
EIA’s data analysis shows that:
• Only 29% of the timber shipments from Peru to China are linked to harvest sources that were ever inspected by the Peruvian government;
• Of the inspected harvest sources, a shocking 70% was found to be illegal, connected to “red” listed timber sources;
• Of those uninspected sources, 50% were at high-risk of containing illegal timber.
Reform of Peru’s troubled timber sector now depends on decisive action by China, the largest buyer, to revise its laws on timber product imports and bring them in line with international norms.
Read EIA's interactive website, Destination China, about China's imports of illegal Peruvian wood products - also in Spanish and Chinese
Download the Destination China companion brief about China’s imports of illegal and high-risk Peruvian wood products
Read the Moment of Truth press release
For further information regarding the report and our findings please contact:
EIA's Peru Director, Julia Urrunaga, at julia@eia-global.org
EIA Latin America Coordinator, Julio Patiño, at jpatino@eia-global.org
Head of Communications, Lindsay Moran, at lmoran@eia-global.org