Organized Forest Crimes: Charcoal and Timber Trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

The profitability of illegal forest crimes is increasingly attracting sophisticated crime groups – including militias and corporate criminals. This chapter focuses on the complex relationships and interactions between militia groups and timber and charcoal traders. The case of the illegal timber and charcoal trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is examined to illustrate legal-illegal interfaces and the ways in which organized crime groups are involved in deforestation. The DRC lost large areas of tropical primary forest in the past, and deforestation rates continue to be of great concern. It is partly due to the interactions between militias and timber and charcoal traders linked to illegal deforestation that national and international responses have gained little traction to protect the Congo rainforest.