Anyone monitoring risk in Brazilian hardwood supply chains might have noticed what seems to be an unusually high volume of illegal wood being seized by law enforcement.

Events recorded by the Timber Risk Map in the first three weeks of July 2020, alone, are enough to get a respect for the scale and volumes of wood being seized.

• Jul-21 46m3 of illegal wood seized in Manoel Emídio Brazil
• Jul-20 39m3 of logs seized in Itapuã do Oeste Brazil
• Jul-20 10m3 of illegal lumber seized in Rio Branco Brazil
• Jul-20 15m3 of illegal wood seized in Santana Brazil
• Jul-19 An estimated 1000m3 of logs and lumber found at destroyed logging camps Brazil
• Jul-19 39m3 of illegal wood seized in Campina Grande Brazil
• Jul-17 Arrests made in alleged illegal logging organization operating in the Jacundá National Forest Brazil
• Jul-17 53m3 of illegal wood seized in Sorriso Brazil
• Jul-16 800 logs of Samaúma, Cedro, Mogno, Itaúba, Assacu seized near Santo Antônio Brazil
• Jul-16 Two arrested for allegedly operating sawmill illegally in Benjamin Constant Brazil
• Jul-15 24m3 of illegal Jarana and Guajara lumber seized in Teóifilo Otoni Brazil
• Jul-15 22m3 of illegal Massaranduba seized in Presidente Figueiredo Brazil
• Jul-15 1000m3 of illegal logs seized near Ponta Negra Brazil
• Jul-14 80m3 of wood seized in Vilhena Brazil
• Jul-13 519 Aroeira timbers seized in Flexa Brazil
• Jul-13 842m3 of illegal wood products seized in Comodoro Brazil
• Jul-12 20m3 of Massaranduba and Tauari logs seized in Santarém Brazil
• Jul-11 42m3 of Quaruba, Mirindiba, and Tanibuca logs seized in Santarém Brazil
• Jul-10 Truckload of illegally transported lumber seized in Ji-Paraná Brazil
• Jul-09 Three truckloads of lumber seized near Guaraná Brazil
• Jul-09 Alleged illegal sawmill dismantled in the Tubarão-Latundê Indigenous Land Brazil
• Jul-08 17m3 of illegal lumber seized in Alto Garças Brazil
• Jul-06 Lumber company in Realidade facing charges it operated illegally Brazil
• Jul-06 234m3 of illegal wood seized near Açailândia Brazil
• Jul-06 17m3 of illegal lumber seized in Cantá Brazil
• Jul-05 35m3 of illegal Angelim, Sapucaia, and Jarana lumber seized in Senhor do Bonfim Brazil
• Jul-03 230m3 of illegal logs seized in Uruará Brazil
• Jul-03 Mayor convicted of operating an illegal sawmill in Trairão Brazil
• Jul-01 Person arrested for illegally transporting Itaúba logs near Vilhena Brazil

According to Brazilian law enforcement institutions, the apparent increase in wood seizures is, in fact, extremely elevated compared to 2019.

In Pará, SEMAS seized more than 4,600 cubic meters from January to June of this year, a rate that is at least 41% higher than 2019. In Mato Grosso, 5,840 cubic meters of wood were seized in the first half of 2020, an increase of 149% over the same period in 2019. And in Rondônia, the Federal Highway Police seized 2,981 cubic meters – that’s 787% more wood than in the first half of 2019.

These large increases in wood seizures have been occurring at the same time that demand for Brazilian hardwoods is decreasing.

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Header Photo Credit: Prefeitura de Muaná