6
World Bank Study
ecutors and the police lack knowledge about important forest laws and regulations.”19 However, this lack of skill is only one part of the problem. The major cause of failure of criminal justice in this area is the prevalence of corruption, especially at high levels. Whether in the form of grease payments and the bribing of local forest officials or the securing of protection from high-ranked political figures, large-scale illegal logging operations cannot occur without the explicit or implicit consent of those government officials in charge of protecting the forests.20 Indeed, research has shown that forest crime is, in most countries, accompanied by corruption21 among regulatory and forest law enforcement officials, making it even more difficult to detect and prevent these crimes.22 Forestry officers generally have significant discretionary powers with comparatively li le oversight, creating an environment in which corruption flourishes, particularly since government forest officers are paid relatively li le, compared to the value of forest resources.23 Illicit practices are often shielded by corrupt public officials, as well as their family members and close associates, making such practices difficult to combat. For example, in Honduras, an independent commission established in 200424 found evidence that investigations into illegal logging on the part of a number of the country’s largest timber companies were halted by the Assistant A orney General just as prosecutors were reviewing relevant documents that were in the possession of the state forest administration agency. When the public prosecutors resumed their work the next day, the documents had mysteriously disappeared.25 Studies led by non-profit organizations working in this sector have found that illegal logging is linked to corruption at the highest levels of government. This type of corruption (known as “state-capture corruption”) requires different enforcement methods than those used in combating other forms of corrupt activity. In Brazil, top officials in the State Environmental Agency (responsible for the logging industry) and in the former and current state governor’s administrations have been implicated in a huge illegal logging operation that caused an estimated US$500 million in damage to the Amazon rainforest. In May 2010, the following officials were arrested for alleged participation in the scheme:
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The chief of staff and former aide of the current governor of the state of Mato Grosso The former Environment Secretary under the previous governor The former Deputy Secretary of Environment and current Deputy Secretary of the State Rural Development Agency
19. WWF 2005. 20. Global Witness 2007. See also Center for International Policy 2005. 21. The term “corruption” is meant to include the offenses outlined in Articles 15 to 22 of the UNCAC: active and passive bribery of national public officials; active and passive bribery of foreign public officials and officials of public international organizations; embezzlement, misappropriation, or other diversion of property by a public official; trading in influence; bribery in the private sector; and embezzlement of property in the private sector. 22. While corrupt PEPs may constitute a small portion of the entire number of PEPs, a single corrupt PEP’s behavior can have a disproportionate impact on a country or region. 23. Contreras-Hermosilla 2001. 24. The commission was established by Executive Decree of the Honduran government in October 2004. 25. Center for International Policy and Environmental Investigation Agency 2005, p. 15.