In Bangkok this week for the annual INTERPOL meeting on environmental crime, we took the opportunity to host a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, highlighting the many forms environmental crime takes in the region and then turning the spotlight on the hot issue of rosewood
Faith Doherty, Head of our Forests Campaign, reflects on the progress made since Asian ministers gathered in Bali to sign a declaration to combat illegal logging. This problem has become more openly acknowledged and Europe is finally bringing in legislation to prohibit the sale of illegal timber products.
Good news from Indonesia in the past month relates to timber legality and trade. On the 1st September, Indonesia’s SVLK (Timber Legality Verification System) came into force, having been passed by a Minister of Forestry Regulation in 2009
Right now Indonesia is in the midst of a crucial struggle to tame the corruption which infects every aspect of public life. Current President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came into office on an anti-corruption ticket and the main agency leading the charge has been the Corruption Eradication Commission or KPK