Serial Offender: Vietnam’s continued imports of illegal Cambodian timber

Vietnam, which has a long history of theft of timber from neighbouring Laos and Cambodia, recently initialled a timber trade agreement with the European Union. This will see Vietnam implement legislation to address imports of illegally harvested or traded timber, in return for timber exports to the EU being deemed to comply with the requirements of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR).

With formal signing and ratification of this agreement expected in 2018, EIA went to the region during the 2017-18 dry season to investigate whether the illegal trade in Cambodian timber had ceased.

EIA identified three main areas within Cambodia where substantial illegal logging operations were under way: Virachey National Park in Rattanakiri province, the forests surrounding the Lower Sesan 2 dam in Stung Treng province, and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province.

EIA tracked timber from these sites to where it entered Vietnam, both through an official border crossing at Hoa Lu in Bình Phước province and Le Thanh in Gia Lai province, and where it was smuggled out of Cambodia and into Vietnam across informal crossings near both Hoa Lu and Le Thanh.

Vietnam continues its role as a serial offender in the illegal timber trade, with large volumes of illegal timber still flowing across the Cambodian border unhindered.