The main regulatory instrument aimed at the protection of the Mediterranean marine and coastal environment is the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention) which entered into force in 2004. The Barcelona Convention’s main objectives are "to prevent, abate, combat and to the fullest extent possible eliminate pollution of the Mediterranean Sea Area" and "to protect and...

China is probably the largest importer of wood products of illegal origin. Other primary importers of illegal logs or wood products are Japan, the EU, and the US.

Often, small-scale farmers settle the areas along logging roads in order to burn secondary or cleared forest for crop production. These farmers are eventually pushed or bought-out by large-scale cattle ranchers or soy prodcution owners.

The official value of the global wood trade has been estimated at around US $327 billion dollars (FAO, 2007; UNEP 2009). If illegal logging consists of as much as 10-30 per cent of the total logging worldwide, with some estimates as highg as 20-50 per cent when the laundering of illegal wood is included, then the value of it is at least US $30-100 billion (NCB-Rome 2008; INTERPOL/World Bank 2009).

Much of the logging in Indonesia, takes place in association with the establishment of palm oil or other plantations. As the forest is cleared for plantations, it is common practic to cut beyond the plantation area, or to get a permit for a larger area than initially planted.

Political economic networks often provide forceful drivers for small-scale illegal logging and timber trade. Many of these networks bring together not only powerful actors from the private sector but als government officials, including the very officials responsible for enforcing logging bans, harvest regulations, and restrictions on timber trade.

A key element in illegal logging schemes is the laundering of the illegal timber and other wood products. This is the primary way that illegal logs are transported, processed and exported or manufactured, thereby bypassing the majority of certification schemes and efforts to avoid illegal imports.

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is an example of a governance mechanism employed in an attempt to limit investment in companies involved in illegal logging.

China is probably the largest importer of wood products with illegal origin. Other primary importers of illegal logs or wood products are Japan, the EU and the US.

Illegal logging takes place in many forms, from illegal logging in protected areas or large-scale illegal logging without permits in remote areas, conflict zones and border areas, to adavanced laundering operations mixing legal with illegal logs through bribery, re-definition of forest classification, forged permits, exceeding legal concessions and clearing or laundering through plantations, biofuel production and ranching establishments.

There are many different causes of illegal logging. This model illustrates the causes of illegal logging in Indonesia.

Illegal logging directly fuels many conflicts as timber is a resource available for conflict profiteers or to finance arms sales. Without public order, militants, guerillas or military units impose taxes on logging companies or charcoal producers, issue false export permits and control border points. They frequently demand the removal of all vehicle check points and public patrolling of resource-rich areas as part of the peace conditions followin...

Many protected areas are home to an abundance of rare wood species in high demand for panels, floors and furniture. They may also hold some of the last remaining concentrations of high density wood for charcoal.

The importance of the world's forests to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions cannot be underestimated. While living forests are vital to reducing carbon levels in our atmosphere, deforestation accounts for an estimated 17 per cent of global carbon emissions - around 1.5 times greater than those from all the world's air, road, rail and shipping traffic combined.

Illegal timber has to be aggregated and funnelled by road or river transport to a limited number of destinations domestically or for export, which creates a bottleneck in the illegal trade.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region extends 3500 km over all or part of eight countries, ranging from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east. The total estimated population of the region is 210 million. The 10 river basins, including the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra which have their source in the HKH region, provide water to 1.3 billion people, a fifth of the world’s population. Rural to urban migration is one of the most widespread glo...

The MPI is an index of acute multidimensional poverty. It shows the number of people who are multi-dimensionally poor. It reflects deprivations in very rudimentary services and core human functioning for people across 104 countries. Although constrained by data limitations, MPI reveals a different pattern of poverty than income poverty, as it highlights a different set of deprivations. There are many facets of poverty in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (...

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" according to three dimensions: health, education, and living standards. It provides a frame of reference for both social and economic development of a country, ranging from 0 (zero development) to 1 (highest level of development). Out of the countries found within the Himalaya Hindu Kush region, China ranks the highest on the Human De...

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" according to three dimensions: health, education, and living standards. It provides a frame of reference for both social and economic development of a country, ranging from 0 (zero development) to 1 (highest level of development). Out of the countries found within the Himalaya Hindu Kush region, China ranks the highest (101st), Afgha...

The largest cities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region number in the millions of inhabitants. The most populous cities include Khabul (Afghanistan), Kathmandu (Nepal), Srinagar (India), Peshawar (Pakistan), Quetta (Pakistan), Xinning (China), and Dehra Dun (India). Large cities such as Kathmandu, Lhasa or Dehra Dun are growing at rates that double the population of these cities every 10 to 15 years or so. At the other extreme are vast rural areas s...