A Chinese-owned timber company is said to have exported more than $5 million dollars' worth of illegal timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to China between June and December 2022.
This is despite the suspension of logging concessions for Congo King Baisheng Forestry Development (CKBFD) by the DRC Ministry of Environment in April 2022.
The accusation was made by natural resource watchdog, Global Witness, which claimed the company had continued to illegally log valuable and rare hardwood trees in the DRC rainforest.
The UK/US based NGO said it used satellite imagery for its investigation.
CKBFD exported the timber to its parent company, the Chinese timber conglomerate Wan Peng International, via the Chinese port of Zhangjiagang, near Shanghai.
Global Witness uncovered this trade by tracking shipping movements from the DRC to China and comparing those with data from China Customs.
The allegations of illegal activity were raised with both China Customs and the DRC Ministry of Environment ahead of the report's publication.
The Chinese authority told Global Witness in September 2023 that they couldn't carry out enforcement because the logging took place outside China’s borders, but it would consider action if the DRC authority requested them to do so.
Global Witness has not received a response from Wan Peng International or the DRC government when approached for comment.
The report highlights the governance issues that still beset the logging industry in the DRC, including corruption, illegal logging and conflict with forest communities.
When a 2023 commission of DRC ministers visited 52 logging concessions, fewer than one in four were found to be operating to the legal standard.
Charlie Hammans who looks at logging activities on behalf of Global Witness, said: "Our investigation reveals that, despite having their concessions suspended by the government, CKBFD continued to wreak havoc in the DRC, tearing down old-growth rainforest and exporting millions of dollars' worth of illegal timber to China.
“As one of biggest consumers of timber globally, China can be a key part of the solution to global deforestation, and the Chinese authorities must crack down on companies exploiting the DRC's precious forests for profit."
The most significant driver of illegal logging in Africa is China’s demand for African teak and mahogany substitute species such as sapele, which places huge pressure on forests throughout the Congo Basin.
Often referred to as the "second lung of the world" (after the Amazon in South America), the Congo rainforest is one of the most important ecosystems on the planet, playing a vital role in regulating the globe’s climate.
