A special report presents evidence that wood products sold in the USA, Canada and the European Union are linked to organised crime and to the activities of illegal armed groups.
Colombia's forests are among the most biologically diverse areas on Earth, and conserving them is of exceptional importance both ecologically and socially. In a recent report, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has uncovered irregularities in Colombia's timber supply chains. The agency reveals that timber exported to the United States, Canada and the European Union as decking and flooring material may be connected to organised crime.
The report Decking the Forest found that between 2020 and 2023, 94% of Colombian decking and flooring timber, with a trade value of approximately 24 million US dollars, lacked the certification required to demonstrate that the material was of legal origin. Part of these exports reaches the USA, Europe and Canada, where laws including the *Lacey Act, the European Union Timber Regulation and the soon-to-apply European Union Deforestation Regulation prohibit the illegal import of timber.
"The findings of the investigation reveal how some Afro-Colombian communities in Colombia's Pacific region are being forced to log their forests under abusive contracts drawn up so that the communities end up in debt bondage. Information has been received that Afro-Colombian communities are suffering conditions akin to slavery," says Susanne Breitkopf, Deputy Forest Campaign Director at the Environmental Investigation Agency in Europe
It was established that 20% of the total volume of uncertified decking boards and flooring was exported to sixteen US companies, including Cedro Rojo, Amazon Hardwoods, Brazilian Lumber (which holds an FSC chain of custody certificate (FSC-C125400)) and Sabra International, which acted as a "gateway for exports" to the highly lucrative North American and European markets.
Key conclusions
The 42-page report states that Los Cedros Hardwood Flooring, a substantial timber export company from Colombia's Pacific coast, admitted to investigators that payments had been made to illegal armed groups in the Chocó and Antioquia regions in order to facilitate the company's logging business. Drug trafficking is widespread in this area and bloody conflicts are ongoing. It was also revealed that another significant exporter – Maderas Santa Rita, which sourced timber from Colombia's Pacific coast, held no certificates confirming the legal origin of the timber in the period from 2020 to May 2023.
At the same time, timber linked to the exporter C.I. Casa en Madera was traced to concession areas where no logging had taken place, giving rise to well-founded suspicions that the origin of the wood was being laundered. The EIA also uncovered evidence that the regional environmental authority Corpoamazonia may have falsified concession monitoring reports – none of its export shipments had the required certificates.
Colombian timber companies transport timber from the Pacific rainforests. The timber ports are located on the coast of the Gulf of Tumaco in Colombia. Dozens of sawmills situated along the rivers of the Pacific jungle produce almost half of Colombia's timber output. The wood species processed here (sajo, machare, roble, guabo, cargadero y pacora) are used mainly in construction and paper production. Although the tropical forests of Colombia's Pacific coast are among the most biologically diverse areas in the world, in recent years the region has suffered intensive deforestation as a result of uncontrolled logging.
The EIA notes that the report highlights breaches committed by the Colombian authorities, despite the legal requirements on the issuing of export certificates laid down in Article 7(1) of the Colombian Ministry of Environment's Resolution No. 1367 of 2000. At the same time, it was found that the US and European companies importing these products had failed to exercise due diligence as required by the Lacey Act or by the European Union Timber Regulation, which prohibit the placing of illegal timber on the market.
On 27 March 2025, the US–Colombia Environmental Affairs Secretariat, established under the United States–Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, found that the concerns raised by the EIA regarding non-compliance with environmental legislation, in particular as regards the implementation of Resolution No. 1367 of 2000, remain unresolved, since the response of the Party (the Government of Colombia) confirms possible non-compliance with the legal act issued...
"The EIA urges proper enforcement of Colombian law, of the European Union Timber Regulation and of the requirements of the Lacey Act , and calls on the Colombian government to improve timber traceability by making data on the timber supply chain publicly available and verifiable, including information on harvesting, transport, processing and the export of wood products. These measures are essential in order to prevent illegal timber from entering national and international markets and to build accountability throughout the supply chain," the statement says.
* The Lacey Act, first adopted in the USA in 1900, combats trade in illegally obtained wildlife, fish or plants. The 2008 Farm Bill amended the Lacey Act and extended protection to a wider range of plants and plant products, making it illegal to import certain products without an import declaration.