Africa has already lost two-thirds of its ancient forests in the last thirty years, industrial logging threatens most of what remains. In as little as five to ten years Africa's apes, the gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos, will disappear with the last undisturbed forest areas.

European-owned timber companies are complicit in that destruction, as revealed in a new Greenpeace Report. And France, by accepting timber from illegal and destructive sources, is also jeopardizing the development of legitimate trade in legal and environmentally and socially responsible timber.

In 2004 France was the largest market in the EU for imports of African tropical hardwood primary products -- a market valued at E256 million. France imports timber and timber products from countries, such as Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon, Gabon, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where corruption is rampant and illegal logging is a serious problem.

One example of how this trade operates in Cameroon is the use of suspect and illegal "salvage" logging permits. Salvage permits were designed for well-defined cases in which specific development projects required the clearing of trees -- for road building or industrial development, such as plantations. There were several strict conditions imposed before a salvage permit could be allocated. A 1995 decree required that an environmental impact assessment be undertaken. In 1998 the maximum area for salvage operations was fixed at 1,000 hectares, and the allocation had to be through public auction.

But in July 1999, the Cameroon Forestry Minister, by decree, indefinitely suspended the allocation of all new salvage permits, due to the "abuses observed in their award" -- bribery, kickbacks, waiving of environmental impact reports, and a range of other corrupt practices. Despite the suspension and the fact that it has never been rescinded, the allocation of salvage permits has continued, giving a sheen of legality to a thoroughly illegal practice.

The companies involved supply timber to traders such as Danish-based DLH, French traders such as Rougier, Bois des Trois Ports and the Reseau Pro distribution chain, part of the UK based Wolseley Group.

Our Forest Campaigner, Sue Connor says: "Stolen rainforest timber is flooding into ports in France and Europe almost daily. It ends up on construction sites and is being sold in stores across Europe. If this criminal activity is not stopped, the world's rainforests look set to disappear in our lifetime, destroying the homes of millions of forest dependent peoples, plant and animal species, including threatened lowland gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants."

The French Government has made repeated statements that it will take action against illegal and destructive forest exploitation. To date their action has run counter to those declarations. France continues to open the borders to illegal timber and to support forest industry involved in illegal logging activities. This timber is freely available on the French and European market.
Despite years of talk by EU Governments there is still no mechanism to stop the flood of illegal and unsustainable timber into ports and stores across Europe. There are stronger protections against pirated music than there are against illegal timber: European law looks after heavy-metal band Mettallica's profits better than the irreplaceable habitat of the last forest gorillas in the wild.

We are calling on European governments to outlaw all imports of illegal timber and to promote environmentally and socially responsible forest management worldwide.