CITES-Authorized Trade in DRC Timber Continues at Unsustainable Levels

The document criticizes the CITES permit system for failing to prevent the illegal trade of Afrormosia timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo, noting that the 2015 export quota remains high despite incomplete inventories and widespread permit falsification. It highlights a gap in the CITES Secretariat's verification process, which only confirms if a permit was issued by the DRC Management Authority rather than the legality of the wood itself. The authors call on EU and US officials to use independent monitoring reports to assess legality rather than relying on CITES paperwork.

• The 2015 export quota for Afrormosia from the Democratic Republic of Congo was increased to 23,240 m3, a figure nearly identical to the 25,000 m3 quotas set for 2012-2014, despite inventories being completed for only 9 of 23 logging titles.
• The CITES Secretariat's permit verification process is limited to checking if a permit was issued by the DRC Management Authority and does not verify the actual legality of the timber, as the Secretariat claims this is outside its mandate.

APA

admin (2015). CITES-Authorized Trade in DRC Timber Continues at Unsustainable Levels. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/cites-authorized-trade-in-drc-timber-continues-at-unsustainable-levels/

Chicago

admin. CITES-Authorized Trade in DRC Timber Continues at Unsustainable Levels. Center for International Environmental Law, 2015. https://www.ciel.org/cites-authorized-trade-in-drc-timber-continues-at-unsustainable-levels/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=admin |title=CITES-Authorized Trade in DRC Timber Continues at Unsustainable Levels |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=24 February 2015 |url=https://www.ciel.org/cites-authorized-trade-in-drc-timber-continues-at-unsustainable-levels/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{admin2015citesauthorized, author = {admin}, title = {{CITES-Authorized Trade in DRC Timber Continues at Unsustainable Levels}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2015}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/cites-authorized-trade-in-drc-timber-continues-at-unsustainable-levels/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }