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Illegal trade in environmentally sensitive goods, such as threatened wildlife, timber, hazardous waste, and ozone-depleting substances, has been a long-standing issue in the international trade and environment agenda. Developing effective policies to reduce illegal trade requires a clear understanding of what drives this trade and the circumstances under which it thrives. In this report, evidence based on customs data and information from licensing schemes is used to document the scale of illegal trade, as well as the economic and environmental impacts of such trade. National and international policies have an important role to play in regulating and reducing illegal trade and the report highlights a range of measures that can be taken at both levels. » Read the complete report online » Read the summary (pdf, 8 pages, 670 KB)

Table of contents

Chapter 1. Defining illegal trade in environmentally sensitive goods

• Wildlife
• Timber
• Fish
• Hazardous waste
• Chemicals

Chapter 2. Key drivers and main impacts of illegal trade

• What drives illegal trade?
• Enabling environments for illegal trade
• The impacts of illegal trade
• Annex 2.A1: The role of China

Chapter 3. Assessing illegal trade flows based on customs and licensing scheme data

Chapter 4. Licensing and trade controls for environmentally sensitive goods

• Licensing systems for wildlife — CITES
• Licensing system for timber — FLEGT
• Licensing system for fish – CCAMLR Catch Documentation Scheme
• Licensing system for chemicals — the Rotterdam Convention
• ODS and the Montreal Protocol
• Licensing system for waste — Basel Convention

Chapter 5. The effect of domestic environmental policies on illegal trade

• The establishment of property rights over environmental resources
• Taxes, charges and payments for environmental resources

Chapter 6. Illegal trade in environmentally sensitive goods: Conclusions

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With the financial assistance of the European Union