U.S. stymies attempt to crack down on illegal logging
mongabay.com
November 13, 2006
Monday the United States stymied an attempt by timber exporting and importing nations to establish new trade rules to tackle illegal logging, according to a report from Reuters.
The news agency said that the U.S. may have neutered the initiative by insisting that all agreements had to be voluntary and failing to show up a Houses of Parliament meeting where proposals for the 2008 G8 summit in Tokyo were being developed.
Illegal logging is estimate to cost developing nations at least US$15 billion a year in lost revenues according to the World Bank, which has said that any agreement should include provisions to address corruption.
Developing countries are said to welcome the illegal logging initiative as long as it involves opportunities for sustainable development, according to Reuters.