Wildlife Crimes

Illegal logging involves the unauthorised harvesting, transportation, processing, or sale of timber and other forest products in violation of national laws or international agreements. Specific illegal practices include harvesting timber without required permits, cutting trees within protected areas or outside designated boundaries, exceeding licenced harvest quotas, and illegally transporting or trading timber products. Across the Caribbean, illegal logging impacts upland forests, watershed areas, coastal mangroves, protected reserves, and other ecologically critical forest habitats, often driven by demand for construction timber, charcoal production, and clearing land for agriculture or development.

The impacts of illegal logging are significant and clearly intersect all five CAR-WEN core values. Biodiversity conservation is compromised as forest habitats—home to diverse and often endemic species—are fragmented or destroyed, reducing wildlife populations and ecosystem integrity. Animal welfare declines as habitat loss leads to increased mortality, displacement, or suffering among wildlife dependent on intact forest ecosystems. Weak enforcement of forestry regulations undermines the rule of law, diminishing public trust in legal frameworks and encouraging further exploitation. Human well-being suffers as communities dependent on forest resources experience reduced availability of clean water, increased flooding and soil erosion, and loss of culturally and economically valuable forest resources. Additionally, illegal logging activities can increase public health risks by disrupting ecosystem services essential for clean air and water, and by increasing human exposure to vector-borne diseases associated with disturbed habitats.

Effectively addressing illegal logging in the Caribbean region demands strengthened enforcement mechanisms, improved forest management practices, targeted public awareness campaigns, and deeper collaboration between forestry authorities, conservation agencies, and local communities. Achieving these outcomes requires approaches that carefully align conservation goals with local ecological realities, economic opportunities, and cultural contexts.