The Timber mafia [Widescreen]

Episode of Series “Four corners (Television program)”.
A revealing profile on the illegal timber trade which is highly organised and operating on an international level involving several source countries throughout Asia, Africa and South America. Focusing on Indonesia, a major source country where it is thought up to 70% of all logging is illegal, reporter Stephen McDonell, with the support of Faith Doherty from the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency, attempts to seek out exactly how and where this illegal timber finally ends up. Starting in Kalimantan province, Indonesia, their investigative journey follows the trail from the illegally harvested timber in the rain forest national parks to neighbouring countries where the timber is “laundered” making it almost impossible to prove its origins. The wood is then shipped off to ports throughout Europe, Australia, China and Japan with no questions asked by the importers. This illegal industry which is destroying the environment and threatening the habitat of endangered animals and biodiversity of rain forests is also a danger to both those involved and those who dare to resist or prevent the warlords and timber barons from carrying out their business. Violence and corruption exists everywhere, even within governments and whilst trading regulations and jurisdictions remain complex and uncoordinated, the “timber mafia” will continue to rape the globe’s rain forests and devastate the ecosystems which inhabit these amazing ancient forests.