In 2024, [XXXX] cubic meters of logs worth $[xxxx] were illegally exported from the Congo Basin to China.

The conservation of the Congo Basin rainforest - often referred to as the “second lungs of the earth” - is critical to addressing the global climate and biodiversity crises. The forests and peatlands of the Congo Basin collectively absorb some 1.5 billion tons of CO2 every year, equal to roughly 3.75 percent of global emissions in 2022.  These forestlands are also home to thousands of tropical plant species and hundreds of species of mammals, birds, and fish, including many endangered species. Yet these critical ecosystems are threatened by deforestation and forest degradation.

One of the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the region is illegal logging. Research (link to about/resources page) has shown that the worst actors in the Congo Basin’s industrial logging sector are highly dependent on log exports, and that an implemented log export ban is a critical policy tool towards addressing illegal logging. 

Across the Congo Basin, several countries have adopted or are progressively implementing log export bans, which require domestic processing of all timber before export. In 2024, the government of DRC joined the six states of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa in announcing a regional log export ban that would go into effect as of January 1, 2028. But import data shows that implementation is lagging behind policy in the region, with illegal exports continuing even in countries with full log export bans.