How Trade Facilitation Measures Impact Current Law and Policy on the Wildlife and Timber Trade

This 2010 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines how trade facilitation measures at multilateral, regional, and subregional levels impact the illegal wildlife and timber trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). It analyzes the tension between economic growth driven by infrastructure and trade ease and the resulting depletion of biodiversity, providing recommendations for policymakers to mitigate environmental risks.

• The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) has experienced significant forest cover loss between 2000 and 2007, with the exception of Vietnam, which saw a recovery due to afforestation and reforestation. For example, Cambodia's forest cover declined from 73 percent in 1969 to 55.3 percent in 2007, and Thailand's decreased from 53.35 percent in 1961 to approximately 28 percent by 2007.
• International trade is a primary driver of biodiversity loss in the GMS, fueled by high global and regional demand. In Cambodia, estimates suggest up to 90 percent of timber is harvested illegally, while the World Bank estimates global annual losses from illegal logging exceed USD 10 billion in market value and USD 5 billion in government revenues.
• Trade facilitation measures, such as those proposed under the WTO's Doha Development Round, present both risks and opportunities. While 'Authorized trader schemes' could incentivize legal trade, 'Freedom of transit' and reduced physical inspections may provide illegal traders with easier, less expensive alternative routes to smuggle contraband.
• The GMS Cross Border Transport Agreement aims to simplify border formalities through mechanisms like 'single window inspection' and 'single stop customs inspection'. However, the report notes that this agreement does not provide for stricter measures for environmentally regulated goods like wildlife and timber, leaving regulation to individual national authorities.
• Regional efforts to combat illegal trade include the ASEAN Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN) and the ASEAN Regional Action Plan on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora (2005–2010). These initiatives acknowledge that weak governance and limited state capacity make wildlife conservation difficult to enforce at the national level.
• Biodiversity conservation in the GMS is often fragmented because protected areas are established within national borders, whereas ecological habitats (ecoregions) cross those borders. The Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Initiative (BCI), executed by the ADB, seeks to establish priority conservation landscapes and corridors by 2015 to reduce this fragmentation.
• The ASEAN Community Roadmap 2009–2015 incorporates environmental goals across its three pillars, including mandates to develop a regional framework for forest certification by 2015 and to strengthen efforts to combat illegal logging and fishing.
• The report recommends that GMS policymakers rationalize regional and national conservation measures to identify gaps and coordinate with customs authorities to assess vulnerabilities in trade agreements. It specifically suggests negotiating a new protocol to the Cross Border Transport Agreement to impose stricter requirements for the transit of wildlife and timber.

APA

Barcenas, L.-L. A. B. (2010). How Trade Facilitation Measures Impact Current Law and Policy on the Wildlife and Timber Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_facilitation_wildlife_timber.pdf

Chicago

Barcenas, Lai-Lynn Angelica B. How Trade Facilitation Measures Impact Current Law and Policy on the Wildlife and Timber Trade. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2010. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_facilitation_wildlife_timber.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Barcenas |first1=Lai-Lynn Angelica B. |title=How Trade Facilitation Measures Impact Current Law and Policy on the Wildlife and Timber Trade |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2010 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_facilitation_wildlife_timber.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{barcenas2010how, author = {Barcenas, Lai-Lynn Angelica B.}, title = {{How Trade Facilitation Measures Impact Current Law and Policy on the Wildlife and Timber Trade}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/trade_facilitation_wildlife_timber.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }