The Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Committee (ECEC) meeting held in November 2017 agreed to formally establish the INTERPOL Forestry Crime Working Group (FoCWG)
The INTERPOL Forestry Crime Woking Group will join the other three Working Groups: Pollution Crime, Wildlife Crime, and Fisheries Crime. It will provide strategic advice to INTERPOL to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement operations targeting organized criminal networks engaged in illegal logging, international trade in illegal timber, and related crimes.
The Forestry Crime Working Group is open to law enforcement officers, judicial officers, and senior decision-makers from INTERPOL member countries, who are appropriately qualified and experienced in the prevention, detection and suppression of forestry and related crime. Inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and other interested parties may participate as observers.
This will provide an opportunity to exchange valuable information, and disrupt the illicit markets created by the trade of illegal forest products. INTERPOL will facilitate regional and global meetings to support the working group to build strong networks between law enforcements agencies, local communities, private sector and other relevant organizations. It will create an effective environment to fight against forestry crime and related crimes such as financial crime, money laundering, and corruption.
More info : Environnemental Crime on Interpol website
INTERPOL together with the Forestry Crime Working Group will organize a Global Forestry Crime Conference to be held at the INTERPOL Headquarters in Lyon, France from 4-6 September 2018. The conference will focus on corporate crimes and financial flows that facilitate forestry crime. The conference will provide an opportunity to the private sector to present new technologies used to monitor illegalities within the timber supply chain.