ROUTES OF
EXTINCTION:
The corruption andviolence destroying
Siamese rosewoodin the Mekong

CONTENTS
1

INTRODUCTION

2

THE ILLEGAL SIAMESE ROSEWOOD TRADEACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

4

A DIRTY BLOODY BUSINESSThis document has been produced with the financial
assistance of UKaid, the European Union and theNorwegian Agency for Development Cooperation(NORAD).

7

GOVERNANCE FAILURES

9

INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION EFFORTS

10REGIONAL HONGMU CRIME SCENES

12

THE SIAMESE ROSEWOOD TRAIL

22

THE IRRATIONAL EXPANSION OF THE HONGMU INDUSTRY

24

RECOMMENDATIONSThis report was written and edited by theEnvironmental Investigation Agency UK Ltd,and can under no circumstances be regarded asreflecting the positions of Ukaid, the European
Union, or NORAD.
Designed by:www.designsolutions.me.uk
Many thanks to Emmerson Press for the
printing of this report:
Emmerson Press: +44 (0) 1926 854400
Printed on recycled paper
May 2014

GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
Siamese rosewood: refers to Dalbergia cochinchinensis
Pierre spp., also known as Thailand rosewood
Burmese rosewood: refers to Dalbergia bariensis spp(synonymous with Dalbergia oliveri)
ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY (EIA)
62/63 Upper Street, London N1 0NY, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7354 7960
Email: ukinfo@eia-international.org

www.eia-international.org

Padauk: refers only to Pterocarpus macrocarpus(synonymous with Pterocarpus pedatus)
Hongmu: refers to wood species or furniture madewith wood species approved as official Hongmu in
China’s 2000 National Standard for Hongmu
Tonne/s: refers to a metric tonne, equaling
1,000 kilograms

FRONT COVER:
Rosewood carving in Dong Ky, Vietnam,
October 2013. © EIA

INTRODUCTION
This is a tragic true story of high culture, peerlessart forms, and a rich historical identity being warped
by greed and obsession, which consumes its very
foundations to extinction and sparks a violent crime
wave across Asian forests.
It is a stark warning to the range states of the Mekong
region that the redwoods of Asia are under assault withviolent social and environmental consequences.
It starts in one of dozens of glitzy malls across mainland
China, where an aspiring collector admires swathes of shops
selling elaborately carved wooden furniture and artworks,
each valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In the lobby of a five-star hotel in high-rise Singapore, awily and animated timber trader laughs while explaining
how he bribes senior officials of the Lao government toaccess stocks of illegal precious woods seized by officials.
In Pakse, Laos, bordering Thailand, a niece of the head ofthe local military command profits from sales of illegal
precious timbers seized by the military. She knows thepaperwork from the corrupted sale will launder five times
more illegal wood.
In Dong Ky, near Hanoi, Vietnam, a reported triad leader
stacks cash into a bag while explaining timber smuggling
routes across the land border into China, and advises that
his operations are protected by border officials on thepay roll.
In Shenzhen, China, a logistics broker offers official Lao
government export permits illegitimately in his possession
to legitimise illegal wood stolen from Laos and facilitate its
entry into mainland China from Hong Kong, violating aninternational treaty decision designed to prevent theextinction of the wood species concerned.
In Thailand, yet another Cambodian logger is killed in a
firefight with forest rangers. The following week a Thai
forest ranger is killed by armed loggers in a nearby nationalpark. Meanwhile, a well-connected commodities trader
offers access to hundreds of containers of seized timber
held in Bangkok ports for US$50 million.
Welcome to the corrupt and bloody illegal Siameserosewood trade, born out of China’s growing obsession
with “Hongmu”.

Over the past ten years, demand in China for luxury
reproduction wood furniture and cultural artworks rooted in
Ming and Qing dynastic aesthetics has soared. The increasing
rarity of the timbers involved has led to dramatic pricerises, exacerbated by a flood of hot investment money.
With rare timbers already threatened with commercial,
if not biological, extinction, laws put in place to protect
Siamese rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchinensis) have been
swept away by corruption, driven by the huge financial
incentives offered by timber traders supplying the
Chinese market.
In March 2013, the world agreed to protect Siameserosewood from unsustainable and illegal trade under
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES).
This report details the findings of EIA’s investigations into
the Siamese rosewood trade in recent years, including in
the year since the CITES listing. It reveals how crime,
corruption, and ill-conceived government policies fromThailand to China, via Laos and Vietnam, are likely to resultin the demise of Siamese rosewood in the coming years,
unless significant and rapid reforms are made.
It also reveals weaknesses in the CITES listing that
fundamentally undermine the application of the treaty to
Siamese rosewood, and doubtless other species.
While responsibility lies with countries in which the tree
grows (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia), it is thestate-supported commodification and commercialisation ofChina’s rich Hongmu cultural heritage that has provided all
the money, and China is where all the timber has gone.
EIA’s findings also show how Siamese rosewood is now all
but gone, and as a result attention is now being focused onother precious replacement species. Unless governments
respond strongly to the crimes outlined in this report, the“redwoods” of Asia will follow Siamese rosewood along theroute to extinction.

1

© EIATHE ILLEGAL SIAMESE ROSEWOOD TRADEABOVE:
Siamese rosewood logs measuring
more than 50cms in diameter are
seen in Vietnam for sale. Logs ofthis size normally take a few
hundred years to grow.

CHINA’S LUST FOR ‘HONGMU’With increased purchasing power ofwealthy elites and a new acceptance ofcelebrating the country’s rich historicalculture, tastes for furniture in China
have increasingly leaned toward highend Ming and Qing dynasty reproduction
furniture. Fashioned – often exquisitely– from a range of specific timber species
characterised by their dark or red hues,
durability, smooth grains and rarity,
collectively, this furniture and thetimbers that make them are referred
to as Hongmu, meaning redwood.
Following government support for theindustry and a growing trend forinvesting in Hongmu as an exclusive
asset class, current demand far exceeds
domestic supply and China is heavily
dependent on imports.1 From 2000-13,
China imported a total of 3.5 million
cubic metres (m3) of Hongmu timber2
and is the only country to have a specificcustoms code for Hongmu species,
indicating the country’s global dominanceof trade in these timbers.3
The Mekong region – including Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar- has historically been China’s supply
base and has also been most affected by
the Hongmu resurgence of the past
decade. Nearly half of China’s Hongmu
imports since 2000 – amounting to
1,666,471 m3 valued at nearly US$2.4
billion – came from the Mekong as

2Chinese and Vietnamese traders havescoured the region for precious
remaining Pterocarpus and Dalbergia
species.4 The commercial extinctionof higher grade Hongmu species such as
Dalbergia odorifera (“fragrant rosewood”
or Huanghuali) due to excessive
harvesting for China’s Hongmu sector
has resulted in Siamese rosewood
becoming one of the most prized
Hongmu species.
Between 2000-09, Hongmu imports
from the Mekong accounted for almost
70 per cent of China’s global Hongmu
imports, exerting huge pressure on
standing stocks, particularly of Siameserosewood, the most targeted species.5
In the run-up to the 2008 Beijing
Olympic Games, demand soared, andexploded from 2009.6
In 2010, the number of companies in
China trading Hongmu furniture grewby 40 per cent.7 While trade hasboomed, prices for the rarer Hongmu
species have also spiked. In 2011,
EIA investigators documented a
Hongmu bed in Shanghai retailing at
US$1 million. To feed this demand,rosewood has been progressively
stripped from the forests of the
Mekong, with imports from Laos,
Myanmar and Vietnam reachinghistorically high levels.8
Surging demand has also prompted
speculators to stockpile timber inFound in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand andVietnam, Siamese rosewood is one of themost valuable and threatened of the 33
official Hongmu species. In Thailand, itspresence is highly fragmented andmainly concentrated in protected areasin the country’s lower northeast
provinces, including Ubon Ratchathanion the eastern border with Cambodia.11
In the absence of systematic surveys, in2011 it was estimated that the country
had just up to 100,000 trees remaining,
equivalent to approximately 63,500 m3.12
Declines are also occurring in the otherrange states.13 In Laos, it is found in
the southern provinces of Champasak,Attapeu and Sekong and the central
provinces of Bolikhamxay andKhammouane. Yet 2012 field surveys
in the latter two provinces confirmed
natural populations are under severe
threat and no mature trees were found.14
In Vietnam, a 2010 survey of fiveprotected areas found a low density ofjust one to 10 trees per hectare.15
In 2014, traders were claiming there
was no Siamese rosewood left in
Vietnam. In Cambodia, mature trees are
now considered rare outside of strictly
protected areas.16
Siamese rosewood is protected by law
in all range states. Thailand’s 1989
National Logging Ban and prohibitions
on logging in rosewood-rich conservationand protection forests apply to allrosewood and precious wood species.
Laos’ 2008 Prime Ministerial OrderNo-17/PM explicitly prohibits harvesting
all domestic Dalbergia species and was
reinforced by Prime Minister’s Order
No 010/PM of 2011 – although opaque
exemptions to these by the Laogovernment have created loopholes.17

250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000

MyanmarVietnam

Laos

Cambodia

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2002

2003

0
2001

SIAMESE ROSEWOOD

Source: UN Comtrade

2000

While sources of Hongmu have since
expanded to include Africa and Central
America – resulting in a huge increasein imported volumes – the Mekong
continues to be vital source of material
for China’s rapacious rosewood industry.

CHINESE IMPORTS OF HONGMU LOGS FROM THE GREATER MEKONG
SUB-REGION BETWEEN 2000-2013

Cubic Meters

anticipation of future price increases.
Since 2010, the Yuzhu Timber Index
prices have risen by 56 per cent with theresult that, by March 2014, Siameserosewood was retailing for RMB109,500(US$17,633) per tonne, a 37 per centprice increase compared to exactly ayear earlier.9 Larger and rarer materials
are bought and stockpiled solely for the
purposes of investment. As of March
2014, EIA investigators were quoted
prices up to RMB500,000 (US$80,000)
per tonne by traders in Shenzhen, prices
acknowledged in a recent industry
association report.10

Thailand

Vietnam has a log and sawn timber
export ban covering all domestic timber
produced in natural forests and also
regulates exports of threatened woodspecies, including Siamese rosewood,
restricting export to finished products.18
In Cambodia, harvesting rare tree
species, including Siamese rosewood,is prohibited under the country’s 2002
Forestry Law.
Despite these controls, all of the range
states have been hit by a predatory
crime wave of illegal logging and timbersmuggling driven almost entirely bybooming demand for Hongmu in China.
A combination of weak enforcement
and corruption, soaring demand and thelack of a legality standard on China’s
imports, has enabled the lucrative trade
to flourish and has turned forests into
conflict zones. Organised syndicatescontrol the trade, and violent and fatal
clashes between armed loggers andrangers continue to cost lives onboth sides.
Classified as vulnerable on the IUCNRed List, in 2011 it was proposed that
Siamese rosewood be listed globallyas Critically Endangered.19 In 2008,
range states were unable to reach aconsensus to internationally protect the
species through the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES), but in 2013 it waslisted in Appendix II of CITES following
a proposal by Thailand and Vietnam.
As harvesting is banned in all range
states, the listing should prohibit
international trade in Siamese rosewoodlogs, sawn timber and veneers.
3© EIAA DIRTY BLOODY BUSINESSABOVE:
Armed forest rangers patrol a
Thai national park in 2013, seeking
Siamese rosewood poachers.

Siamese rosewood has become so rareand valuable that the practice of logging
it is now more akin to wildlife poaching.
The majority of the timber that finds its
way to the markets of China is soughtby teams of skilled men from ruralvillages who will spend weeks at atime in remote forests tracking down
the last stands. This model presents
almost insurmountable challenges foragencies tasked with enforcing
restrictions on harvesting.
In southeastern Thailand’s nationalparks, loggers flood in under the coverof darkness from remote villages andacross the porous border fromneighbouring Cambodia. The tools of
the trade are chainsaws, guns and evenrocket-propelled grenade launchers.
When loggers are confronted byenforcement officers, violence often
ensues. Methamphetamines such as
yaba are regularly used as a stimulant
to overcome fatigue and as a form of
payment for loggers from bordercommunities blighted by drug addiction.

4

excursions, returns that dwarf thoseoffered by other forms of local
employment such as farming.
Away from the frontline lies a web oftraders, middlemen and corrupt officials
making their fortunes by channelingrosewood from remote forests to theglitzy furniture showrooms of China.
On the surface, the ban on trading
Siamese rosewood in Thailand has
been tightly enforced. But investigations
by EIA in 2011 reveal how bribery
and connections with government
officials enable some traders tocircumvent the law.

Since 2009, dozens of forest rangers
have been killed on Thailand’s rosewood
frontline.20 Fatalities among loggers
are even higher, with 45 Cambodians
reportedly shot dead by Thai forces in2012 alone.21

In August 2011, EIA investigators met
with Piangjai Veratpan, from thecompany Wood Siam, in a factory on
the outskirts of Bangkok. Ostensibly a
trader in Burmese teak, Veratpan also
revealed that he had access to Siameserosewood hidden away in a warehousein the city. The timber had beenbrought into Thailand from Laos by
mis-declaring the species name andbribing officers from a range of agencies– both in Laos and Thailand – along theway. Veratpan assured EIA that a highlevel customs officer could ensure safe
passage out of Bangkok in return for abribe of 20 per cent of the cargo value.

The money on offer to impoverishedrural communities from traders lures a
stream of people willing to undertake
potentially lethal work. Villagers canearn hundreds of dollars from logging

The same month, investigators met
with Bangkok-based Promphan
Suttisaragorn, a representative of PAB
Co Ltd, which boasted of connections to
the “ruling elites” in advertisements forSuttisaragorn offered EIA seized
Siamese rosewood that was being heldby the Thai authorities. He claimed his
was the only company in Thailand withauthority to sell the Siamese rosewood,and offered 10,000 m3 for US$50m. He
also boasted of government contacts
providing him with access to Siameserosewood in Cambodia. Suttisaragorn
said that rosewood logged in Thailand
was often smuggled into Cambodia andre-exported into Thailand to obscureits origin. He said he had access to
Certificate of Origin (CO) documentsthat would facilitate this process andthe circumvention of Thai law.
Earlier investigations by EIA in Thailand
in 2007 revealed the corrupt practices
used by Thai traders to obtain Siameserosewood in neighbouring Laos. During
a meeting with Prakit Sribussaracum,
owner of the company LVT (Laos
Vietnam Thailand), EIA was told he
had gained access to logging quotas
associated with infrastructure projects
in Laos by paying senior government
officials Thai Baht 50 million (US$1.5m)
in bribes. In addition to large volumes of
mixed hardwoods, the deals offered
access to Siamese rosewood. Throughits government contacts, LVT was able
to circumvent both Laos’ log export ban
and recently imposed species-specificrestrictions to export Siamese rosewood
flitches into Thailand. Part of LVT’s
logging quota was linked with thecontroversial Nam Theun II hydropower
dam in central Laos. LVT’s Lao partner
carrying out logging in the planned
reservoir area was Phonesack Group,

an enterprise connected to the upperechelons of the country’s government.
In 2007, independent assessments of
the impact of the dam highlighted
major concerns over Phonesack’s rolein rampant logging of the National
Protected Area (NPA) adjacent to thereservoir area, that was said to be“bleeding rosewood”. Phonesack wasreported to have offered cash to local
villagers for rosewood extracted fromthe NPA, and subsequently laundered
the timber through its quota from thedam site.22
By March 2012, Siamese rosewood
was commercially extinct in many
areas of the NPA and poachers had
returned to previously logged sites to
dig up the roots, removing the potential
for regrowth.23
In Laos, a significant role is also played
by Vietnamese and Chinese traders who
scour the country to find rosewood. In
April 2011, EIA investigators in Laos
had a chance meeting with Chinese
national Xie Rongjian, the President of
Guangzhou-based De Sheng Hang Co
Ltd. Over five years he claimed to havebecome one of the biggest rosewood
traders in Laos. Materials he sourced
would be trucked to Vietnam, containerised
and shipped to China, delivering atenfold return on investment. Xie hadseen prices in Laos rise by 3,000 per
cent. Stocks were so depleted and sovaluable that Xie said he would travel
anywhere in the country for as little as
2 m3. He predicted that the species would
be gone from the country in five years.
The complicity of government officials
has been a key factor in the failure to
enforce legal controls over the harvestand export of Siamese rosewood in Laos.
In September 2013, the Minister ofFinance admitted that authorities

BELOW:
Stocks of illegal Siameserosewood seized by Thai forest
rangers are a common sight innational parks neighbouring both
Laos and Cambodia.

© EIA

timber on trade boards. Suttisaragorn
claimed to do business through highlevel government contacts from whom
he sourced Siamese rosewood in
Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. He had
previously sold Siamese rosewood tostate-owned Chinese firms.

5

“None of the range
states, nor China,
have laws mandating
enforcement officials
to seize imports oftimber harvested
illegally in the countryof harvest… ”

BELOW:© EIA

A Siamese rosewood square log at
Shenzhen Guanlan market, China,
showing a Vietnamese customs tab,March 2013.

6“may have been cooperating” withtraders to export protected timber
species.24 In 2014 a government
body tasked with tackling corruption
revealed that most of the cases it dealt
with concerned the involvement of state
officials in illegal logging. The Deputy
Chairman of the Government Inspection
and Anti-corruption Authority warned
that corruption could cause the collapseof the regime.25
In February 2013, EIA investigators met
Singapore-based Sunny Jeremiah Ong,from the company VIP Partners, who
facilitates deals in Siamese rosewood
from Laos to the end market in China.
Ong explained how he paid off seniorcontacts in the Lao Department ofForestry to secure access to seizedrosewood stocks. Ong also stated that
customs officers in Laos were bribed toallow export of Siamese rosewood misdeclared as other species. His networkof corrupt officials also included thepolice and military, and he described
how payments were made during social
meetings away from the officials’ offices.
Ong said that he was in the process of
finalising deals with buyers in China
and planned to ship via Hong Kong.
He offered EIA more than 100 m3 permonth of seized Siamese rosewood thathe could access by bribing senior Lao
officials. He said it was necessary to go
through contacts in the central
government, who would in turn agree
the sale with provincial authorities.
He explained that the logs would betransported to Vietnam, where new
documents would be prepared obscuring
the origin and mis-declaring the species,

with the requisite bribes being paid toVietnamese customs officers.
Siamese rosewood consignments from
Laos usually cross the border intoneighbouring Vietnam unhindered to beeither processed in Vietnam or, in mostcases, transported onwards to China.
Vietnam does not require any proof of
legality for logs flowing into the country
from Laos, as long as taxes are paid.26
For years, trade boards have featured
adverts placed by Vietnamesecompanies for a range of Laos-origin
rosewood species.
In 2012, EIA found Haiphong-based
company Vinaca Maiphuoung offering
hundreds of millions of dollars worth ofrosewood logs for sale. The timber wasstored in the firm’s warehouse in Laosand could be delivered to either theborder with Vietnam or to the port cityof Da Nang. EIA reported the company
to both the Lao and Vietnamese
authorities as a test of their willingness
to enforce the law, although there is noevidence any action has been taken.
Another case shows that elements of
the Vietnamese authorities both knowof restrictions on Siamese rosewood
and are capable of effective enforcement.
In 2012, a 500 m3 consignment ofrosewood was seized by the Vietnamese
General Customs Department while it
was being loaded onto a ship in Da Nang
port. The timber had been imported
from Laos and declared as Dalbergia
cambodiana, but testing by the
Vietnamese CITES office revealed it
was predominantly Siamese rosewood
with a significantly higher value than
had been declared. The exporting firm,
Ngoc Hung, was subsequently
investigated for smuggling of aprotected timber species.27
The investigation led to the arrest of
the director of Da Nang customs andtwo of his subordinates. However, theallegation that Ngoc Hung had violated
species-specific controls was refuted by
the Ministry of Industry and Commerceon the grounds that protection was notextended to imports. While the caseremains in limbo, the timber was
auctioned by the government.28
The Ngoc Hung case is the exceptionthat proves the rule; the seizure became
so high-profile that the Prime Ministerintervened to press for a resolution.
The fact that the consignment was able
to reach Da Nang without being detained
indicates entrenched corruption at landborder crossings between Laos andVietnam. Similarly, in 2011, 330 m3 ofSiamese rosewood was intercepted inrail wagons at a station in Hanoi. The
contraband originated in Laos andtravelled hundreds of miles from theborder unimpeded.29

GOVERNANCE FAILURES
The impending commercial extinctionof wild Siamese rosewood is due tofundamental governance failures inrange states across the Mekong region,
coupled with price rises driven byburgeoning demand from China’s
Hongmu industry.
Major governance failings across all
range states include weak and corrupted
law enforcement and ongoing legal andpolicy contradictions that promote andprovide mechanisms for trade in illegalrosewood at the expense of protection
for the species.

LAW ENFORCEMENT FAILINGS
Despite national-level legislationprohibiting harvest and trade in Siameserosewood being in place across its
range, and the efforts of some brave
individuals within forest administrations
and NGO movements seeking protection
and law enforcement, on a wider levelin Mekong range states regulations
have been swept aside by the amountof money being offered by traders
supplying the Chinese market.
During EIA’s research and investigations
into the Siamese rosewood trade since2007, trader after trader has spoken of
cash payments and other inducementsfor officials able to facilitate crossborder smuggling. Media reports ofenforcement actions are littered withinstances of corrupted forestry, police,customs, military and other officials
being actively involved in the illegal
trade.30 Despite occasional enforcement
successes, most consignments of illicit
Siamese rosewood are not intercepted,
and even when seizures do occur
successful prosecutions of those
involved are rare.

CONFLICTING POLICIES
Range state laws on Siamese rosewood
and other species, and forestry andtimber trade more widely, are litteredwith caveats and contradictions, many ofwhich have been ruthlessly exploited bytraders and officials alike.

Siamese rosewood illegally cut by locals
who are not protected by security
apparatus or government actors isseized and auctioned off as legal tenderor successfully smuggled abroad.50
The laundering of illegal timber into
the formal economy through government
seizure and auction is systematised
and corrupted, and plays a key role incircumventing all existing tradeprotection for the species in Laos,
Vietnam and Cambodia.
Cambodia similarly prohibits harvest
and trade in Siamese rosewood but
awards exclusive contracts to connected
timber barons for illegal seized precious
wood, including Siamese rosewood cut
from controversial economic land
concessions that are decimating thecountry’s forests.51
Thailand needs to be recognised as thecountry which spearheaded efforts to put
in place credible protection for the species
under CITES, and only Thailand seems
to have relatively straightforward
protection in place for Siamese rosewood.
EIA has witnessed truly dedicated andsystematic enforcement efforts to stem
illegal harvests and trade in the country,
and to date it appears to have largely
excluded seizure and auction as an
official mechanism to facilitate trade.
However, this has resulted in significant
stockpiling of seized timber in nationalparks and ports, which presents costs,
invites physical attacks by rosewood
thieves and pressure from Chinese
traders to buy the seized timbers.52
Thailand also suffers significant
enforcement and corruption challenges
akin to those in neighboring range
states, with political turmoil adding togovernance problems.
None of the range states, nor China,
have laws mandating enforcement
officials to seize imports of timber
harvested illegally in the country of
harvest, and both Vietnam and China –which benefit most from, and play thebiggest roles in, international Siameserosewood trade – have resisted
instituting them.

In Laos, a log export ban is routinely
circumvented through opaque
exemptions, leading to the law being
largely irrelevant in the country’s
timber economy. Restrictions on specificspecies, including Siamese rosewood,are similarly flouted when it suits
special interests. Non-transparent
quotas for Siamese rosewood are given
to elite actors with close connections to
the highest echelons of government.
7

SCALE OF THE ILLEGAL SIAMESE ROSEWOOD TRADE: SEIZURES ACROSS THE MEKONG 2012-14
AGGREGATED FIGURES
Thailand, March 2014

Since 2008, over 363,000 pieces of Siamese rosewood reported seized in
Thailand31

Laos, January 2014

Over three tonnes of Siamese rosewood seized in Savannakhet province,32
while nearly half (46 per cent) of corruption cases of 2013 related toillegal timber33

VietnamSince 2010, at least 62 tonnes seized, along with 500 logs and 4,513 m3 34

Cambodia

Since 2010, at least 49 tonnes seized, along with 1,309 pieces and
1,958 m3 35

MEDIA COVERAGE OF INDIVIDUAL CASES ACROSS THE MEKONG
Thailand, January 2014

Thai Navy seizes more than 700 logs about to be trafficked across the
Mekong. The courier had made five similar transports before arrest.36

Vietnam, October 2013

Quang Bing province: seizure of over 500 logs from a house37 and Quang
Ninh province: joint agency seized 30 tonnes of rosewood in transit.38

Cambodia, September 2013

Siem Reap provincial authorities seize 21 tonnes of Siamese rosewood.39

China, May 2013

Huangpu Customs conducts Operation Axe, making 48 arrests within 12
gangs smuggling high value timbers, including Malagasy rosewood, padauk
and Siamese rosewood, valued at RMB3.16 billion (US$500 million).40

Cambodia, August 2013

Ratanakiri province district deputy police chief summoned for questioning
after raid on his house finds 10 m3 of illegal timber.41© EIA

MARCH 2013 - Dalbergia cochinchinensis LISTED ON CITES APPENDIX II

8Laos, January-June 2013

Khammouane province: Authorities seize 12 tonnes Siamese rosewood in
the first six months of the year.42

Thailand, May 2013

Police arrested a courier reportedly delivering 21 Siamese rosewood logs
to an unnamed military chief of staff in Bangkok for a US$150 fee.43

Cambodia, March 2013

North-east Cambodia: seizure of around three tonnes of rosewood intransit.44

Laos, December 2013

Laos customs officers in Boten, near the border with Yunnan Province ofChina, seize 20 tonnes of rosewood.45

Thailand, April 2013

Ubon Ratchathani authorities arrest trader with 600 logs, reportedly
purchased from villagers to resell to an investor in Kukhan district, Si Sa
Ket province. Also in Ubon Ratchathani, couriers arrested transporting
Siamese rosewood on motorcycles for funds to buy drugs.46

Thailand, September 2012

Huge seizure at a checkpoint of 1,500 logs, in transit to a wood fair.47

Thailand, March 2012

1,671 pieces of Siamese rosewood found at a timber fair, some bearing
markings showing the wood has previously been confiscated, thereby
implicating law enforcement officers.48

Vietnam, May 2012

Quang Binh province: 366 kg seized.49

As far back as 1998, the World
Conservation Monitoring Centre had
applied the CITES Listing Criteria to thespecies and found an Appendix II listing
was justified to prevent unsustainable
trade resulting in the need for Appendix
I protection.53 In 2008, Thailand sought
the support of other range states for a
CITES listing but Laos and Cambodia
rejected the proposal, arguing a listing
would negatively affect regional timbertrade – despite harvesting prohibitions
across its range.54
In February 2012, EIA called for an
urgent CITES listing,55 and in mid-2012
Thailand indicated it would propose an
Appendix II listing for the species. With
Vietnam eventually also co-sponsoring
the proposal,56 it was approved throughunanimous consensus at CITES’ 16th
Conference of the Parties (CoP16) inMarch 2013, offering the first, albeit
long overdue, international protection
for the species.57 Appendix II regulates
trade in threatened species, allowing
controlled trade subject to the issuanceof CITES permits against agreed quotas.
Species listings must be agreed by all
range states.
While the listing was a late step
forward, in reality it is likely to be‘too little too late’ for Siamese rosewood
across most of its range. Only Thailand
appears to have a realistic chance ofpreserving any wild stock, and even
there it is not guaranteed.
Importantly, the approved listing has
an ‘Annotation Five’ limitation,
restricting the application of CITES
controls to just logs, sawn timber andveneers. All other products are exempt
from the CITES certification, permitting
and quotas system, providing a
massive loophole for unregulated,unmonitored and illegal trade insemi-finished products.

© EIA

INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION EFFORTS
ABOVE:In March 2013, Siamese rosewood
was listed on CITES Appendix II, butloopholes and long delays mean thismay be too little too late to savethe species from extinction.

Siamese rosewood traders still able tofind supplies are already abusing theAnnotation Five loophole, threatening
to undermine the whole listing. The
limited scope has significant negative
implications for the effectiveness of
the Appendix II listing and will likely
result in the species being traded into
extinction in the coming years.
Despite domestic laws prohibiting
harvests and trade, Annotation
Five provides a perverse veneer oflegitimacy to ongoing trade in semiprocessed rosewood products madewith illegal timber. The Annotation
also allows countries that seize illegal
timber and auction it in local markets
to continue doing so. Laos, Vietnam
and Cambodia regularly conduct such
auctions. This timber is then exported
to global markets as finished products
outside the scope of CITES. EIA’s
investigations have shown that such
auctions are clearly corrupted, andpaperwork generated by them is thenused to launder far larger volumesof equally illegal timber into
international markets.
Ultimately, Annotation Five provides
quasi-legitimacy to international tradein de-facto illegal timber where no
legitimacy existed before. Removal of
Annotation Five, so that all parts andproducts are covered, is essential.
9

REGIONAL HONGMU CRIME SCENES© EIALANG SON

Lorries cross the Vietnam-China
border into the town of Puzhai.
Semi-finished Hongmu is moved via
formal crossings into retail hubs
close to the border, while illicit,
unprocessed logs are smuggled over
informal bianmao routes to evadeboth taxes and CITES restrictions.
See page 17.

DONG KY

Siamese rosewood logs from Laosare unloaded in Dong Ky, where they
will be bought by Chinese traders andsmuggled into China by Vietnamesegangsters. Dong Ky and neighbouring
villages enable traders to source
rosewood without travelling deep
into source countries. See page 16.

KEY:
Recorded geographic distribution ofSiamese rosewood.
Source: CITES CoP16 Prop. 60

10

© EIA

© EIA

PAKSE

Siamese rosewood logs for sale
at a Lao military auction. Illegallyharvested timber seized in
enforcement operations is sold off
to Chinese traders, who then use
paperwork from the ‘legal’ stock tolaunder five times more illegal
timber. See page 12.

© EIASHENZHEN

Hundreds of tonnes of Siameserosewood logs for sale at one ofShenzhen’s six major Hongmu
markets. The markets provide
Hongmu in volume to feed China’s
rapacious furniture industry. Logs
are brought in via Hong Kong,
where logistics agents are finding
ways to evade international trade
restrictions. See page 18.

LAO BAODA NANG© EIA

DONG HA

Stacks of Hongmu at a riversidewarehouse in the Vietnamese town.
Standing between the key bordercrossing of Lao Bao and the port
city of Da Nang, Dong Ha acts as
an aggregation point for Siameserosewood from Laos. In Da Nang,
hongmu is containerised andshipped to China. See page 15.

11© EIAINVESTIGATIONSTHE SIAMESE ROSEWOOD TRAIL
Following the CITES listing for Siameserosewood, EIA set out to gauge how the
new protection is impacting illegal tradeacross range states and China.
Between October 2013 and March 2014,
investigators travelled to the major tradeand processing hubs of Pakse on southern
Laos’ border with Thailand, through northVietnam’s Dong Ha and Dong Ky woodmarkets, crossing over to China via Lang
Son and Pingxiang and on to Shenzhen
and Hong Kong.
Posing as buyers, investigators met witha wide range of Siamese rosewood andother Hongmu traders, brokers, logistics
companies and middle men, generating
first-hand information on the effects of
the CITES listing.
EIA’s findings offer some evidence that
CITES is suppressing international illegal
trade, particularly in China, but also thatthe loophole provided by Annotation Five,
combined with ongoing corruption andpoor governance in range states and China,
is undermining the potential protection.

12

LAOS LEAKSBlack Markets and Rigged Auctions
In February 2014, EIA investigators visited Pakse, a Siameserosewood trade hub in southern Laos near the border withThailand. EIA also met traders and middlemen in Vientiane, thecapital of Laos.
In Pakse, undercover EIA investigators met Mr Ouyang, of
Shanghai Hongxu International Trading Limited (Hongxu), a firmdrawn to Laos in mid-2013 by the riches to be made in thebooming Siamese rosewood trade. Expanding from the company’s
ongoing Vietnam-based business procuring Siamese andBurmese rosewood for domestic processing and onward
shipment to China as raw materials, Ouyang readily admitted
that Hongxu had “arrived too late” because Siamese rosewood
had already been virtually cleared out of the forests in Laos.
Ouyang explained: “Now, Siam[ese] rosewood in Lao is becoming
smaller and smaller, the more they are logged. The bigger ones
with diameters of 20cm and above are generally all smuggled infrom Thailand.”This is a core factor in Pakse’s role as a key Siamese rosewood
trade hub – its proximity with both the Thai and Cambodian
borders. Other traders in the town similarly estimated that
60 per cent of the Siamese rosewood on offer in Laos isactually from Thailand.
Following the CITES listing, many local companies, including
Hongxu, have experienced delays and even confiscations of
their cargos en route to China. Ouyang explained that when
Hongxu had taken its chances the previous year by hiding
Siamese rosewood logs inside furniture products andmis-declaring the cargo, only one of its three containers
successfully entered China and was being sold in Shenzhen’s
Guanlan market. The remainder was warehoused in Hong Kong
until either shipment to China could be guaranteed or buyers inHong Kong were found.
Companies such as Hongxu may have arrived late but they wereadapting rapidly. Ouyang explained how Hongxu has alreadyswitched to other Hongmu species, namely Burmese rosewood(Dalbergia bariensis) and Burmese padauk (Pterocarpus
macrocarpus) where trade is less regulated. Burmese rosewood,© EIA© EIA

especially, bears some resemblance to Siamese rosewood
and is offered at a price enabling significant profitsand market growth.
At time of EIA’s visit, Hongxu staff were reportedly in
Cambodia loading 1,700 tonnes of Burmese rosewood thatwould be taken to China via Vietnam. Despite a ban on
sourcing rosewood from local farmers having been recently
announced by the Lao government and communicated by the
Chinese embassy, Ouyang admitted that Hongxu had illegallysourced 500 tonnes of Burmese rosewood from local Lao
farmers and buried the timber under its factories in andaround Pakse.

© EIA

All the Chinese traders EIA encountered in Laos said theysource Siamese rosewood illegally from farmers, directly or
via local brokers. Investigators were taken to meet one such
Lao broker in his heavily guarded compound, conveniently
located between the Mekong and a tributary river along Road
13 in the northwest outskirts of Pakse. The transport links
provide easy access to three protected forests in the vicinity
but also make the area a gateway for smugglers.
OPPOSITE PAGE:

In the compound, investigators witnessed specially adapted
vehicles with black-tinted windows and no license plates
coming in and out with Siamese rosewood logs illegally cut
in Laos, as well as those smuggled into Laos from Thailand
and Cambodia. An estimated 20 tonnes of Siamese rosewood
was stacked up around the compound. Ouyang confirmed there
are many other such timber brokers in the area offering a
range of precious Hongmu species, all of which sell toChinese-run factories in the area. Payment is not made untilmaterials safely reach their premises, having avoided seizure.

An army officer in Pakse, Laos, displays
seven tonnes of confiscated Siameserosewood for sale available at a corrupted
military auction, February 2014.

ABOVE LEFT:
An army compound in Pakse, Laos, where
EIA investigators were shown seized
Siamese rosewood for sale.

ABOVE RIGHT:

The underground black market for rosewood in Laos isonly part of the picture. It is augmented by trade in illegal
Siamese rosewood seized by government officials and soldat auctions, a business controlled by a few politicallyconnected individuals and their networks.

Lao military auctions of seized timber– known as "quota materials" - areaccompanied by paperwork that traders
use to launder larger volumes ofillegal logs.

While in Pakse, EIA also attended meetings with Ouyang
where Hongxu sought to whitewash its illegal Burmeserosewood stocks by buying “quota materials” from the Laomilitary headquarters of Champasak province. At the time of
EIA’s visit to the military compound, 7 m3 of seized Siameserosewood was available at a price of US$13,500 per tonne.

ABOVE:
Siamese rosewood logs illegally felled in
Laos, Cambodia and Thailand for sale at
the warehouse of this broker in Pakse,
Laos. Such materials are sold mainly to
Chinese-owned furniture factories in Laos.

13

INVESTIGATIONS (CONTINUED)
Ironically, these quota materials are in reality confiscatedwood seized from farmers and illegal brokers, and sold on at
up to three times the local market price, usually exclusively
to Chinese or Vietnamese traders. Seized timbers across a
range of Hongmu species may have been harvested in Laos orseized from traders trafficking wood from neighboring Thailand
or Cambodia.
Nevertheless, because the quota material comes with official
paperwork, illegal Hongmu traders consider such auctions animportant means to add a veneer of legality that is essential totheir operations in Laos. Hongxu eventually bought 80 tonnes of
the illegal Burmese rosewood from the military, the permits forwhich will be used to deceive officials when inspecting Hongxu’s
existing illegal stockpiles.
Traders EIA met in Laos claimed that each tonne detailed in
auction paperwork could be used to launder five tonnes of
locally traded illegal wood. Ouyang said that forestry officials
inspecting local factories generally accept bribes to look theother way when auction paperwork is used to legitimise illegal
wood – a factor he relies on himself.
Ouyang also admitted that he had buried 200 tonnes of
Burmese rosewood bought illegally from local traders under
one of his factories. Purchasing seized illegal wood from themilitary auction would allow him to dig some of it up – using theauction paperwork to legitimise his haul. He also revealed that
information came from contacts in the relevant agencies
advising when it was safe to export containers of rosewood.
Hongxu’s purchase from the military was brokered with a Lao
woman named Chantone Lattanvong, who was introduced as arelative of the Champasak governor and the niece of the headof the local military command. A Lao woman who called herself
Xiao Wang and spoke fluent Mandarin was translating the meeting.
Wang works for another Chinese company, allegedly one of thelargest in Pakse, which also deals through Lattanvong.

According to Wang, Lao government agencies such as the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and Ministry ofIndustry and Commerce (MIC) as well as the military inChampasak and neighboring provinces all organise auctions ofseized timbers, including Siamese rosewood. Such materials aremuch sought-after and the stock would normally have been soldoff well before the official auction. Lattanvong had used herfamily connections to purchase the entire available stock fromthe military at a discounted rate, with Hongxu having to buy
from her. Lattanvong was said to have been brokering suchdeals for more than two decades.

Circumvention by Value-Adding
To circumvent both Laos’ log export ban and the CITES listing,Siamese rosewood traders and those dealing in other Hongmu
species are increasingly undertaking basic “processing”, mainly
by adding minor features to the ends of flitches so they canbe exported as semi-finished products. Once landed in China,
the ends will be cut off so they can be sold or reworked as
raw materials.
Hongmu traders do not seek to build long-term industry in Laosand a vibrant factory rental market hosts a fluid network ofillicit Chinese and Vietnamese traders looking to export raw
materials. The main consideration in a factory rental deal was
reportedly the owner’s connections when processing paperwork
and dealing with Lao officials. Lattanvong’s younger brother’stimber factories were offered for rental for this purpose, orfor warehousing for illegally sourced materials, with quota
paperwork and materials as a cover.
One such factory in Pakse is owned by a local firm called
Jidipeng, which in 2007 was partially acquired by Chinesecompany Beijing Yixi Technology Ltd, also known as Laoshi
Hongmu. While in Pakse, EIA investigators met with a man
named Chen Xinghua from Laoshi. He said that the Jidipeng
and Laoshi partnership traded Siamese rosewood and other
Hongmu species to big furniture factories serving the China
market, including at least 100 tonnes to Lian Tian Hong, aFujian-based furniture company that is said to be one of thebiggest buyers in Pakse.
Chen acknowledged that the CITES listing had impacted thetrade as the Laos border was closed periodically, and somecontacts involved with moving Siamese rosewood out of Laos
were no longer willing to take the risk. He said there are local“patrons” in Laos who would guarantee moving timber from
Laos to Hong Kong, but even they were not able to makeshipments between June and October 2013, and two containersof Laoshi’s were taken into Hong Kong last November only after
a long wait. Laoshi has now developed a new factory in Pakse
focusing on exporting Burmese rosewood – due in part to new
restrictions, but largely because Siamese rosewood in Laos was
no longer commercially viable, having been logged out.

© EIA

Chen said that Laoshi’s Burmese rosewood business in Laos
involves buying illegal timber from local loggers and brokers,
and confirmed that the factory also uses the governmentauctioned stocks as a cover to launder illegal stockpiles. Thisis then “processed” into semi-finished furniture essentiallymade with flitches, exported to China and re-worked as raw
materials for furniture.

14

© EIATHE VIETNAM PIPELINE
Vietnam plays a major role as a transit hub for Siameserosewood from Laos, Thailand and Cambodia enroute to
China via two main routes – by sea from ports such as
Da Nang to Hong Kong, or by road via the country’s porous
northeastern border with China.
Dong Ha, the capital of Quang Tri province, is one of thebiggest timber trading hubs in Vietnam. It is a short drive
east of Lao Bao, one of six official border crossings between
Laos and Vietnam. While large volumes of timber, including
illegal Siamese rosewood, pass through the Lao Bao crossing,smaller consignments transported by motorbikes andmini-buses with blacked-out windows and blanked license
plates use back roads and rivers to bypass the official
border. In January 2014, Vietnamese media documented
smuggling of Siamese rosewood adjacent to the Lao
Bao border post managing to avoid enforcement due toarmy escorts.58
When EIA visited Dong Ha in February 2014, the role thetown plays in the illegal Siamese rosewood trade was
obvious. In just one morning, EIA was shown over 400 tonnesof Siamese rosewood logs stockpiled in three warehouses in
the Ai Tu Industrial Zone.
The manager of one such warehouse, owned by the company
Ngoc Anh Limited, told investigators that the 80 tonnes oflarge Siamese rosewood logs in stock had recently beensourced in Laos and half had already been sold to a Chineseclient. The manager explained how Ngoc Anh’s logs are firsttaken to Da Nang port and then shipped to Hong Kong, where
Chinese buyers will inspect the logs. Once a deal is struck,
payment for the logs is made through a contact in the townof Mong Cai, a notorious smuggling hub on Vietnam’s northernborder with China. Although the manager spoke of delays inmoving precious timber such as Siamese rosewood from Hong
Kong into mainland China, generally the cargo was still getting
through, aided by CITES re-export permits from Vietnam.

© Lao Dong News

Dong HaOPPOSITE PAGE:
A relative of the Champasak governor,
Chantone Lattanvong (right) brokers
timber sales between the army in Pakseand buyers from China and Vietnam.

TOP:
EIA investigators were shown more than
400 tonnes of Siamese rosewood in justthree warehouses in Dong Ha, Vietnam,
all said to have been imported after
CITES restrictions were in place.

ABOVE:
Smugglers move Siamese rosewood
across the Sepon river separating Laosand Vietnam.

15

INVESTIGATIONS (CONTINUED)
Dong Ky to Lang Son
Lying near the outer suburbs of Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital,
the village of Dong Ky serves as a hub for artisanal Hongmu
processing and also plays an important role in the illegal flowof rosewood logs into China. Timber markets lining thestreets enable buyers to source raw Siamese rosewood andarrange transport into China without travelling deep into thesource countries.

© EIA

EIA visited Dong Ky in late October 2013, the week after
Vietnam had legally enacted the CITES listing. It was
immediately apparent that the listing had not stemmed the flowof Siamese rosewood through the area. One seller offered EIA
investigators 1,000 tonnes of Lao-origin Siamese rosewood logs
a month, and Chinese traders continued to stream into the area
to secure supplies of up to 100 tonnes on each trip.
Laos appeared to be the sole source of the Siamese rosewood
available in Dong Ky and surrounding markets. In one warehousestacked full of logs, a trader pointed to the official Lao
hammer-marks on a proportion of the timber. This was, shesaid, the ‘legal’ quota material, while the majority of Siameserosewood logs were unmarked and smuggled out of Laos.
The flow of Siamese rosewood out of Vietnam had reportedly
been stifled by Chinese authorities subsequent to the CITES
listing. In order to circumvent China’s border controls,
traders were enlisting the services of local logistics companies.
One company, Truong Giang Logistics (also known as “999”),
was said to specialise in the smuggling of raw Siameserosewood logs.

© EIA

Posing as buyers, EIA investigators met Mr Li of 999. He said
that while the Chinese authorities were imposing controls,
Vietnamese officials were not, adding that 999’s ability toevade border controls stemmed from connections between thecompany’s owner and officials. “Our boss has bought access tothe entire route,” Li said. “He is very influential. He’s quite
powerful. You could say that he’s part of the triad”.
For a fee of US$2 per kilo, 999 offered to move hundreds oftonnes of Siamese rosewood into China every month. The
consignments would be divided into a maximum of three tonnes
per truck and concealed by legitimate cargo. Li said thatexporting the timber requires paperwork, which would be provided
by a forestry department official with shares in the company.
After the first meeting, EIA returned to the company’s office
to meet 999’s owner, Aqiang, or Cuong. During the meeting,
Aqiang loaded stacks of cash into a bag while his employees
concealed Siamese rosewood logs in gunnysacks for export.
He was so confident of his ability to move the illicit wood
across the border that he offers a full refund on any cargo
seized by authorities. Aqiang owns a network of transport firms
and moves an average of seven trucks of timber across theborder each day.

© EIA

Outside 999’s office, EIA met a Chinese woman writing her
name on Siamese rosewood logs. Huang Lihong had invested
US$160,000 in Siamese rosewood to supply her Fujian-based
company, Tianxi Traditional Furniture. She was sourcing in
Vietnam for the first time and, as a test, was using 999 to get
the logs through to China. Two weeks later, investigators met
Lihong again at a Hongmu trade show in China, where she
confirmed the logs had arrived safely in China and expressed
her intention to return to Dong Ky to source more supplies.

16

DESTINATION CHINAOPPOSITE PAGE TOP:
Siamese rosewood smuggled across theVietnam border with China are often concealedin gunnysacks to avoid detection.

Although there is some local processing around Dong Ky, theoverwhelming majority of Siamese rosewood logs cut in Laosand transported into Vietnam are bound for China.

OPPOSITE PAGE MIDDLE:
Aqiang (right), a triad leader from Lang Son,
Vietnam, stuffs bags with wads of cash received
for smuggling Siam rosewood logs into China.

Pingxiang
EIA investigators followed the smuggling route from Dong Ky,
which runs 160km north to the province of Lang Son.
Although there are two official crossings into China at Puzhai
and the Friendship Pass, logistics agents told EIA that trucks
carrying contraband rosewood usually cross via informal, or‘bianmao,’ routes which crisscross the mountainous border.

OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOM:
Despite CITES legislation effective from 12 June
2013, Chinese buyers continue to flock to Dong
Ky in Vietnam to source raw materials forexport to China in October 2013.

At Puzhai EIA observed dozens of trucks laden with Hongmu
furniture crossing every day. The goods were unloaded on
the Chinese side at a Hongmu market near the border, where
skilled workers finished and polished it for the local market.
Both Puzhai and the larger border town of Pingxiang havebecome major retail hubs for Hongmu products.

BELOW:
Siamese rosewood being carved into furniture
in Dong Ky, Vietnam, prior to export to China
outside of the scope of current CITES controls.

BELOW LEFT:
A convoy of trucks carrying Siam rosewood
semi-finished furniture parts and raw materials
being loaded at Puzhai rosewood market, China.

Furniture malls have sprung up as a consequence, incorporating
high-end Hongmu outlets. When EIA visited one of thesecentres, some of the shops had Siamese rosewood logs ingunnysacks stashed behind furniture. One shopkeeper told
investigators her boss keeps a constant stockpile of thespecies. Another shopkeeper said that importing had become
more difficult but admitted his boss still managed to get
supplies and had teams of employees sourcing in Vietnam.

BELOW RIGHT:
Siam rosewood logs, sawn timber, andveneers - hidden in gunnysacks to aid
smuggling from Vietnam - on offer at a retailshop in Pingxiang, China.

The retail furniture sector is supplied by processing hubs
such as Banjia Village, located in a southern suburb of
Pingxiang. EIA visited the area to find out how firms source
materials and the extent of the trade in semi-finished
Siamese rosewood from Vietnam.

© EIA

© EIA

© EIA

Investigators met a factory owner who sources exclusively
semi-finished Siamese rosewood from Vietnam, applying
finishing in China for the discerning local market. The ownerclaimed that at least 90 per cent of the Siamese rosewood
products – whether logs or semi-finished – were smuggled
via bianmao routes in order to evade taxes. According to17

© EIAINVESTIGATIONS (CONTINUED)

him, most of the factories in Banjia Village bought semi-finishedproducts rather than logs but principally because the cost oflabour in Vietnam was significantly lower than in China. The
CITES listing did not influence the form in which his timber waspurchased because the goods were smuggled anyway. He said
that enforcement on the border was variable but always as aresult of Chinese and not Vietnamese action.

Shenzhen
From Pingxiang, EIA investigators travelled eastward to the cityof Shenzhen, in Guangdong province, which plays a key role as
the entry point into mainland China for Siamese rosewood
shipped through neighbouring Hong Kong.
The thousands of tonnes shipped into Hong Kong’s ports from
Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand are aggregated at six major
Hongmu wholesale markets, which in turn supply factories
feeding demand in China’s booming cities. The markets are
clustered in Guanlan town. When EIA visited Guanlan Hongmu
market in early November 2013, tension among traders was
tangible after a series of seizures at ports in the region.

18

Customs authorities in Huangpu port, a major conduit for
Hongmu imports, as well as at Wenjindu, had arrested 38 people
from 12 reported timber smuggling gangs between May andAugust. Chinese media reported that 20 Siamese rosewood
traders in Guangdong province, in which Shenzhen lies, hadbeen caught falsely declaring the species in June.59
Despite the seizures, the market was still stocked withthousands of tonnes of high-quality Siamese rosewood,
Burmese rosewood and padauk. Most of the traders said no
new Siamese rosewood materials were coming through from
Hong Kong, but added that enforcement was focused on theport of entry and not on the market.
Some traders had valuable stock stuck in Hong Kong and theblockage was said to be driving prices up on the mainland.
EIA investigators were offered one stack of Siamese rosewood
for more than US$80,000 per tonne. The trader advised thatlogs at that value were commonly bought solely as aninvestment – polished, waxed and stored while the value rose.

Most of the Siamese rosewood available in the market
originated from Laos and had been shipped via Hong Kong.
Proximity to Hong Kong and its port infrastructure, rather
than the location of major Hongmu processing hubs, is theprinciple reason for the location of rosewood markets
in Shenzhen.
EIA investigators visited Guangdong-based logistics firms
facilitating trade from neighbouring Hong Kong to find out
how the CITES listing was affecting imports of Siameserosewood. It emerged that in response to the enforcement
actions, logistics firms were seeking new ways to ensure theflow of contraband resumed.
EIA met with Tuobao Import Export that, prior to the listing,had arranged imports of Siamese rosewood from Hong Kongfor Guangdong-based traders. Owner Wang Jie confirmedthat imports of Siamese rosewood had ceased after May
2013. He said it would now only be possible with CITES importpermits issued by China’s State Forestry Administration(SFA), which in turn would require export permits fromsource countries.

OPPOSITE PAGE:
Dadicheng Hongmu City in Shenzhen’s
Guanlan town is possibly the world’s largest
wholesale centre for Siamese rosewood.

BELOW:
Stack of Siamese rosewood logs offered to
EIA for more than US$80,000 per tonnein Shenzhen.

BOTTOM:
Shenzhen container port, China.

In contrast, there was still no problem with importing
Siamese rosewood into Hong Kong. This was later confirmed
officially to EIA by Hong Kong’s CITES Management Authority(MA), which by February 2014 had still not implemented thelisting.60 Wang explained how Hong Kong enabled companies
such as his to import goods, reload them into new containers
and re-export to China, thereby obscuring the origin. This
also provided opportunities to mis-declare the species andpotentially evade the CITES restrictions.

Guangdong logistics firms involved in the rosewood trade use
Hong Kong as a stepping stone into mainland China, where
incomplete paperwork can be augmented or altered to meetthe stringent demands of Chinese customs.

© EIA

Wang said he had successfully imported the Central American
Hongmu species Dalbergia retusa in violation of CITES bydeclaring it as the unregulated D. bariensis, aided bysimilarities in the texture and colour between the two
species. He was exploring ways in which Siamese rosewood
could be mis-declared or otherwise smuggled in.

Customs data shows wide scale mis-declaration of freight
between Hong Kong and China. Between 2010-13, Hong Kong
reported 161,000 m3 more in high-value log exports to China
than it reported in imports, indicating significant launderingof illicit timber.61

The Hong Kong Hub

A meeting was arranged with Madam Lin, a cautious
businesswoman based near the Shenzhen-Hong Kongcheckpoint. Before cutting short the meeting, she revealedconsiderable experience in transporting Siamese rosewood,
Burmese rosewood and padauk to China. She had been
moving containers of Siamese rosewood by sea freight toports in Dongguan and Shenzhen. From Hong Kong, sheclaimed that containers would arrive at any port in© EIA

EIA investigations across Siamese rosewood range states
pointed towards Hong Kong as the main route forconsignments headed for mainland China. To gather
evidence, EIA investigators travelled to Hong Kong to meetwith logistics firms involved in the Hongmu business.

19

INVESTIGATIONS (CONTINUED)
Guangdong within three days and offered compensation of
RMB40,000 (US$6,500) per tonne should the cargo be stopped.
Her fee for transporting Siamese rosewood into China was
RMB14,000 (US$2,300) per tonne.
Lin said she had previously moved containers of Siameserosewood with CITES permits. She was told by traders that
CITES export permits could be obtained in Vietnam for US$550
per m3 and that import permits could then be applied for in
Guangzhou and Beijing. Lin gave the impression that while Hong
Kong serves as an important transit point for rosewood shipments
where paperwork can be manipulated, the smuggling operations
are orchestrated by syndicate heads based on the mainland.
To follow up this lead, EIA travelled back across the border
into Shenzhen and met with Deng Changhua, of Shenzhen
Zhongyihang Import-Export, at the firm’s office at the Guanlan
Hongmu market. During the meeting, Deng said his firm wasable to transport Siamese rosewood containers legally into
China using CITES permits obtained from Laos. He said thepermits were secured directly from the Lao government by aChinese businessman who often travels to Vientiane. Using
these export permits, Deng had been able to apply for thereciprocal import permits from China through the Guangzhou
authorities, which are then issued by the CITES MA in Beijing.
According to Deng, Zhongyihang is one of a few companies tohave such permits.

© EIA

At the time of the meeting, Deng still had permits for a few
thousand cubic metres of Siamese rosewood, with each permit
covering up to 100 m3. Deng’s fee for transporting Siameserosewood from Hong Kong to China was RMB16,000 (US$2,500)
per tonne.

20

Like Madam Lin in Hong Kong, Deng said he would not need any
documents for the shipment and the only requirement was thatthe containers arrive in Hong Kong. He said: “Your goods haveto arrive in Hong Kong. If your goods are unable to arrive inHong Kong, then I can’t do anything about it.” Despite being inpossession of Lao CITES export permits, Deng made it clear thatsuch documents were only of use in transferring the cargo from
Hong Kong to China, and that the trader bore the risk from Laos
to Hong Kong – something Deng acknowledged is the riskiest
part of the transportation.
A crucial part of the preparation is to ensure that the cargovolume tallies with the specifications on the CITES permits.
He said: “I have to pull together my required cubic metres.
If I have papers for 50 m3, and for one permit you exceed 50 m3,
it will be a headache for me… I will have containers in Hong
Kong that will add onto yours on the same permit… for thecustoms declaration.”
While Deng asserted that the Lao CITES export permits were notfakes, it was clear they did not relate to any specific batches oftimber as is required under CITES. The permits have effectively
been issued illegitimately to be used to legitimise any Siameserosewood to which the certificate-holder chooses to apply
them, a clear breach of CITES rules.
Deng said that the majority of Siamese rosewood shipments hetransport in 2014 originated from Vietnam, in particular via Ho
Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Haiphong ports, while in 2013 mostof the containers he received arrived from Thailand.
Following the meeting, Deng sent EIA a CITES re-export permit
issued by Vietnam in March 2014, covering Siamese rosewood
from Cambodia. The legitimacy of this permit is highly doubtful.

OPPOSITE PAGE:
Hongxu’s Siamese rosewood from Laos
stored in a private warehouse in Hong Kongafter enforcement prevented its import into
mainland China.

LEFT:
A banner on a timber warehouse in Yangguang
market in Guanlan announces that the company
had imported illegal timber.

BELOW:A CITES export permit from Laos and a CITES
re-export permit from Vietnam provided by
Deng Changhua. Both permits were illegitimately
used to apply for CITES import permits from
Chinese authorities to enable import into
mainland China from Hong Kong.

In April 2014, the Cambodian MA informed EIA that no
CITES export permits had been issued to date,62 andin March 2014 EIA learned that the Cambodian
government had written to the Chinese embassy inCambodia informing China that Cambodia had banned
trade in Siamese rosewood.63© EIA

On 15th April 2014, Deng alsoemailed EIA a photo of a Lao
CITES permit for the export of
50 m3 of Siamese rosewood to
Xiamen China Long Century
Trading Co. Ltd - a firm thatreportedly has a processing
factory in Laos. It seems Deng's
claim of access to such permits tolaunder illegal timber through
CITES controls on the China borderwere true.

© EIA

On 3 April 2014, EIA wrote to the
Laos CITES MA outlining concerns
regarding the illegitimate issuanceof CITES Export permits, as
explained by Deng, and seeking
official information on export
permits issued to date. No response
had been received by the time thisreport went to print, in May 2014.

21

© EIATHE IRRATIONAL EXPANSION
OF THE HONGMU INDUSTRYABOVE:
While traditionally Hongmu
represents a rich cultural heritage,some experts in China warn thatthe modern Hongmu industry
threatens that very tradition.

China’s modern Hongmu industry bears
little resemblance to its cultural
heritage. Unbridled expansion of thesector over the past decade threatens towipe out some of the iconic species
revered in traditional Hongmu culture.
Siamese rosewood provides the clearest
example of this threat.
China’s National Standard for Hongmu
identifies 33 tree species, of which 21
are found in Asia (mainly in the Mekong
region), seven from the Americas andfive from Africa. The standard is intended
to protect Chinese consumers and does
not seek to safeguard the industry fromillegal or unsustainable supply from thecountries of origin.

“The scarcer a
Hongmu species
becomes, the higher
the price rises.
A venerable cultural
tradition serves as acover for rampant
speculation...”22

Increasingly, many of the populations ofthese species are being methodicallyexhausted in order of meet demand from
China’s wealthy elite. Top of the list is
the native Chinese D. odorifera, which
can attract up to US$2 million per cubic
meter but is virtually nonexistent innatural forests64 and, as such, is theposter child for the Hongmu industry.
Surging demand in China, especiallysince 2009, has progressively led to
Hongmu species being stripped from the
Mekong region, India, Madagascar,
Central America and Africa.
In each region, the nature of timber
extraction and sourcing driven by
Chinese traders follows the same pattern.
Unsustainable levels of extraction lead todomestic protections. Domestic legislationis then undermined by smuggling andrampant bribery of officials. Finally,
range states are driven to seek protection
through CITES. This has led to seven
Hongmu species being listed on CITES.

Range states are increasingly driven to
the international protection afforded by
CITES because the huge potential
profits from the rosewood trade rendernational regulations impotent, while
China has no controls against the importation of illegally logged timber.65
The rapid injection of ‘hot’ money
chasing dwindling supplies of Hongmu
species into states with weak forest
governance allows traders to operatewith impunity. In impoverished andpotentially turbulent countries such
as Madagascar, Laos, Myanmar
and Senegal, this can have widereaching impacts and can eventhreaten political stability.
The phenomenon is not simply a caseof China’s wealthy classes resurrecting
long-standing cultural traditions.
One of the biggest drivers of demandsince 2009 has been market speculation.
The consequence of rising demand anda diminishing resource has created abubble that continues to inflate, withcatastrophic implications for range
states. The Chinese Redwood
Committee, an industry association,
has noted this trend in investment-led
consumption.66 The scarcer a Hongmu
species becomes, the higher the pricerises. A venerable cultural tradition
serves as a cover for rampant speculation.
Yixi, the company EIA met in Pakse,
Laos had established an investment fundin China specifically to allow wealthy
individuals to sink cash into its Siameserosewood furniture. The company has
attracted more than US$1.6m that it
plans to invest in Burmese rosewood
and padauk.

© EIA3

In spite of the evidence that it is abubble and the systematic eradication of
the resource, the Chinese government
has provided considerable financial
incentives to promote the Hongmu
industry. This has led to a proliferationof processing and retail hubs, with morethan 3,000 factories producing Hongmu
across 25 areas, in turn driving up
demand for a scarce resource.
In the town of Pingxiang, for example,
the local government provided financial
subsidies and tax reductions to support
the Hongmu sector, while state-ownedbanks have extended at least US$75m
in loans.67 As a consequence, there are
now more than 2,000 Hongmu businesses
in Pingxiang alone.68

While the roots of the Hongmu tradition
lie in a rich cultural heritage, the modern
industry threatens that very tradition.
At a meeting on the international timbertrade in Shanghai, in March 2014, an
expert from the Cultural Relics
Restoration Committee of China said
that contemporary products do notreflect the true tradition and are intended
to show off wealth. Several industry
representatives cautioned that theindustry was in “chaos” as a result of theinflux of speculative investment cash.69
The pursuit of Hongmu in the name of
China’s cultural heritage is destroying© EIA

Such hubs are emerging across thecountry, predicated largely on an often
illegal resource that is threatenedwith extinction. The rationale behind
investment and state backing for anindustry which is systematicallydestroying its own supply chain is unclear.
the natural heritage of countries acrossthe world. Siamese rosewood is a clear
example; it was one of the original
Hongmu species centuries ago but has
been driven to the brink of commercial
extinction by greed and speculation.
Not that this will be of concern to thecriminal syndicates involved in the
trade; they are already switching toother Hongmu species such as
Burmese rosewood.

TOP:
The China-ASEAN Hongmu
City in Pingxiang - one ofmany such specialist markets
catering to surging demand for
Hongmu products in China.

ABOVE:
While Hongmu products are
considered valuable investments
and cultural artefacts, few
consumers are aware of thedirty bloody business behind
the trade.

23

RECOMMENDATIONSParties to CITES should:
l Support any proposal to delete Annotation #5 from the

Appendix II listing for D.cochinchinensis to ensure all parts andproducts are covered by the listing;l Direct the CITES Secretariat to collate and publish the reports

from range states on the issuance of CITES export permits
for D.cochinchinensis;l Direct the CITES Secretariat to undertake a mission to assessand strengthen the capacity of Myanmar’s CITES Management
and Scientific Authorities to respond to the imminent trade
threat against D.bariensis, and other species.

All D.cochinchinensis Range States should:l Submit regular detailed reports to the CITES Secretariat on theissuance of CITES export permits for D.cochinchinensis, including
information on how many permits have been issued for whatvolumes of timber, and the applicable laws and rationale
justifying their issuance.
l Publish Non-Detriment Findings that demonstrate how CITES

export permits issued are in line with scientifically proven stocks;l Submit to the Secretariat a proposal for listing replacement

species, such as D. bariensis, or P. macrocarpus, on CITES
Appendix III with zero quotas, pending full non-detrimentfindings that might inform future sustainable trade volumes.

The CITES Standing Committee should:l Direct the CITES Secretariat to undertake a review of thereports and Non-Detriment Findings from range states ofD.cochinchinensis, as described above to; determine whether or
not permits are justified by scientifically credible non-detrimentfindings; and seek clarification from range states regarding thelegality of D.cochinchinensis currently exempted by Annotation#5 from CITES controls.
l Direct the CITES Secretariat to provide a report of the review torelevant members of the CITES Standing Committee, including
recommendations for further action if required.

Range States of all 33 Official Hongmu Wood Species:l Submit to the CITES Secretariat proposals for listing all

domestic stocks of species in China’s Hongmu National
Standard on Appendix III of CITES (except those already listed),
with zero quotas for harvest and trade, and conduct non-detrimentfindings to guide any future potential legal trade.

Thailand should:
l Immediately submit in writing a proposal to the CITES

Secretariat to delete Annotation #5 from the Appendix II listingfor D.cochinchinesis before the next Conference of the Parties,
so that all parts and products are covered by the listing.
l Investigate and prosecute the main culprits behind illegal

trade and strengthen current penalties so that they act as acredible deterrent;l Ensure D.cochinchinensis stocks seized in enforcement

operations over the past decade never enter commercial
domestic or international trade;l Ensure enforcement agencies are adequately resourced toprotect the last remaining stands of D.cochinchinensis
in Thailand.

Laos should:l Stop all government auctions of seized D.cochinchinensis, andother species;l Investigate and prosecute companies and individuals involved

in illegal rosewood tradel Utilize the current negotiations between the EU and Laos fora Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to combat illegal
logging and the illegal trade in D.cochinchinensis.
l Investigate the fraudulent issuance of CITES export permits

being used by traders detailed in this report.

Vietnam should:
l Prohibit the import of illegal timber into Vietnam as part of

the Timber Legality Assurance System currently being developed
for the FLEGT VPA negotiations between the EU and Vietnam;l Stop auctions of government seized illegal timber, including

D.cochinchinensis;l Investigate the illegitimate issuance of Vietnamese CITES

re-export permits for D.cochinchinensis from range states suchas Cambodia that have not issued export permits;l Prohibit exports of illegal rare timbers currently allowed ifpurchased from government auctions and processed into
finished products.

Cambodia should:
China should:l Institute a clear legal prohibition on imports of all illegallylogged timber;l Deploy effective border controls on imports of D.cochinchinensis;
l Ensure every CITES export or re-export permit for D.cochinchinensis

is validated by CITES Management Authorities in the Countryof Harvest;l Suspend the issuance of all CITES import permits forD.cochinchinensis until the publication of non-detrimentfindings justifies CITES export permits issued by Range States;
l Reform the Hongmu industry to ensure it stops stimulating

demand for endangered species, and trading in illicit timber.

24l Seek clarifications from relevant CITES Management Authorities

on how Vietnam has issued CITES re-export permits for
Cambodian D.cochinchinensis when no legitimate Cambodian
Export permits have been issued;l Stop government auctions of illegal Hongmu timbers.

REFERENCES
Huang Wenbin and Sun Xiufang, Tropical Hardwood Flowsin China: Case Studies of Rosewood and Okoumé (2013)
2. Global Trade Atlas, China imports 2000-2013 by Hongmu
HS code, http://www.gtis.com/gta/, accessed March 2014
3. HS Code 44039930, Padauk in the rough.
4. 48% of China’s total Hongmu imports over this period
from the Mekong. Global Trade Atlas, China imports
2000-2013 by Hongmu HS code, http://www.gtis.com/
gta/, accessed March 2014
5. Global Trade Atlas, China imports 2000-2013 by Hongmu
HS code, http://www.gtis.com/gta/, accessed March 2014
6. Global Trade Atlas, China imports 2000-2013 byHongmu
HS code, http://www.gtis.com/gta/, accessed March 2014
7. EIA, Rosewood Robbery (2012)
8. Global Trade Atlas, China imports 2000-2013 by Hongmu
HS code, http://www.gtis.com/gta/, accessed March 2014
9. Yuzhu Timber Index, for Dalbergia cochinchinensis per
tonne unit of 1.8-3 metres x 15-25 cm,
http://www.yuzhuprice.com/price.php#, accessed
27/03/2014, comparison across period 01/01/201027/03/2014
10. http://art.people.com.cn/n/2014/0401/c20624424796467.html
11. Thailand and Vietnam, Consideration of Proposals forAmendment of Appendices I and II (CoP16 Prop. 60)
12. Thailand and Vietnam, Consideration of Proposals forAmendment of Appendices I and II (CoP16 Prop. 60)
13. TRAFFIC/IUCN, Inclusion of Dalbergia cochinchinensis
Pierre in Appendix II, ref CoP16 Prop. 60, available fromhttp://www.traffic.org/cop16-table/
14. TRAFFIC/IUCN, Inclusion of Dalbergia cochinchinensis
Pierre in Appendix II, ref CoP16 Prop. 60, available fromhttp://www.traffic.org/cop16-table/
15. Thailand and Vietnam, Consideration of Proposals forAmendment of Appendices I and II (CoP16 Prop. 60)
16. TRAFFIC/IUCN, Inclusion of Dalbergia cochinchinensis
Pierre in Appendix II, ref CoP16 Prop. 60, available fromhttp://www.traffic.org/cop16-table/
17. From harvesting in Cambodia (2002 Forestry Law),under the logging ban in Thailand (1989), fromharvesting in Laos (PM Order No 17/PM of 2008
reinforced by PM Order 010/PM of 2011) and in Vietnam
from commercial harvesting and from collection. See
EIA, Rosewood Robbery (2012)
18. Government of Vietnam Decree 32/2006/ND-CP, on
Management of Endangered, Precious, and Rare Speciesof Wild Plants and Animals, 30/03/2006
19. TRAFFIC/IUCN, Inclusion of Dalbergia cochinchinensis
Pierre in Appendix II, ref CoP16 Prop. 60, available fromhttp://www.traffic.org/cop16-table/
20. http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/
wcpa_worldheritage/?13535/Thailand-observes-its-firstWorld-Ranger-Day
21. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/xinhua-newsagency/131129/thai-soldiers-kill-37-cambodian-loggers11-months-police
22. Eleventh Report of the International Environmental andSocial Panel of Experts, February 23, 2007
23. Nineteenth Report of the International Environmental
and Social Panel of Experts, March 20, 2012
24. Authorities inspect timber factories, order stock
clearance, Vientiane Times, January 9, 2014
25. Logging, tax avoidance top 2013 corrupt activities,
Vientiane Times, March 3, 2014
26. Vietnamese TLAS version 6, for the ongoing VPA
negotiations with the EU.

27. http://www.baodautu.vn/portal/public/vir/baivietdoanhnghiep/repository/collaboration/sites%20content/live/vir/web%20contents/chude/
doanhnghiep/phapluat/2951c8587f000001018cbaa1f
5fa3a26 & http://vapulogistics.com/vi/component/
content/article/64-tin-noi-bo/247-ggxung-quanh-lo-goxk-cua-cong-ty-tnhh-mtv-ngoc-hung-nhieu-diem-canduoc-lam-ro & http://www.baohaiquan.vn/pages/
123-nhieu-diem-123456-can-duoc-lam-ro-123457.aspx/
http://vapulogistics.com/index.php?option=com_
content&view=article&id=247%3Aggxung-quanh-lo-goxk-cua-cong-ty-tnhh-mtv-ngoc-hung-nhieu-diem-canduoc-lam-ro&catid=64%3Atin-noi-bo&lang=vi
28. http://congluan.vn/tin-chi-tiet/122/46561/Ban-dau-gialo-go-trac-“khung”-hon-535-m3-Co-hay-khong-su-lamquyen.html
29. Education for Nature (ENV) Bulletin, 2011.
30. Examples include: Illegal logging persists in Laos,
Vientiane Times, 6 March 2014; Logging, tax avoidance
top 2013 corrupt activities, Vientiane Times, March 3,
2014; Provincial official in hot water after raid, Phnom
Penh Post, 2 May 2013; Border police add to illegal
logging: gov’t, Phnom Penh Post, 25 June 2013; DSI
Claims Illegal Logging Rampant: Cambodian Gangs Get“Virtual Concessions” to Fell Phayung Trees, Bangkok
Post, 29 January 2012;
31. The Nation, Temples lead fight to save last Siameserosewood reserve, 24 March 2014,
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/
Temples-lead-fight-to-save-last-Siamese-rosewood-r30229886.html
32. Vientiane Times, Illegal logging persists in Laos, 6
March 2014
33. Economic Police cited in Vientiane Times, Illegal logging
persists in Laos, 6 March 2014
34. Government, law enforcement, NGO, print journalism
press monitoring over period
35. Government, law enforcement, NGO, print journalism
press monitoring over period
36. TFP, Thai Navy confiscated 80 million baht of Siamese
Rosewood logs, 8 January 2014,
http://thaifinancialpost.com/2014/01/09/thai-navyconfiscated-80-million-baht-of-siamese-rosewood-logs/
37. Anninhthudo, Phat hien hon 500 khuc go huong trongnha dan, 10 October 2013, http://www.anninhthudo.vn/
Xa-hoi/Phat-hien-hon-500-khuc-go-huong-trong-nhadan/519435.antd
38. Lao dong, Bat qua tang 2 v van chuyen lau gan 60 tan
go trac, 14 November 2013
39. Phnom Penh Post, Rosewood cache uncovered, 6 September
2013, http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/
rosewood-cache-uncovered
40. Legal Daily, Huangpu Customs seized 12 timbersmuggling gangs, 22 August 2013,
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index/content/201308/22/content_4786838.htm?node=20908
41. Phnom Penh Post, R’kiri cop to answer for illegalrosewood, 26 August 2013, http://www.phnompenh
post.com/national/r%E2%80%99kiri-cop-answerillegal-rosewood
42. Vientiane Times, 23 July 2013
43. TFP, Bangkok man arrested for possessing rosewood,
31 May 2013, http://thaifinancialpost.com/2013/05/31/
bangkok-man-arrested-for-possessing-rosewood/
44. Cambodia Herald, Illegal rosewood seized at border,
27 March 2013, http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/

cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=M2M4YzlhNzA2NmY
45. Lao News Agency, 13 December 2013
46. Matichon, EIA comms 22 April 2013
47. Bernama, Thai officials seize 1,500 logs of Siameserosewood, 3 September 2012
48. Komchadluek, 19 March 2012
49. Viet Nam News, Rangers seize smuggled timber inQuang Binh, 9 May 2012, http://vietnamnews.vn/
politics-laws/law-justice/224472/rangers-seizesmuggled-timber-in-quang-binh.html
50. See EIA reports: Borderlines (2008), Crossroads (2011),
Checkpoints (2012).
51. Try Pheap Firm in Talks to Replicate Timber Deal,ZSOMBOR PETER AND AUN PHEAP, The Cambodian Daily,
DECEMBER 4, 2013
52. Vichet asks Military to Guard Timber, 24March 2014.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/
401100/vichet-asks-military-to-guard-timber
53. Contribution to an evaluation of tree species using the
new CITES Listing Criteria, World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, 1998. http://www.biodiversitylibrary.
org/bibliography/57996#/summary
54. Bangkok Post, Thai efforts to ban trade in rosewood
fails, Sunday May 25, 2008, http://www.aseanbio
diversity.info/ Abstract/ 53006243.pdf
55. Rosewood Robbery, The Case for Thailand ot List
Rosewood on CITES, EIA, 2012.
56. http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/cop/16/
prop/E-CoP16-Prop-60.pdf
57. http://www.eia-international.org/cites-protection-willheld-to-end-rosewood-wars
58. http://news.zing.vn/Buon-lau-tung-hoanh-sat-tru-sochong-buon-lau-post387100.html
59. Legal Daily, Huangpu Customs seized 12 timbersmuggling gangs, 22 August 2013,
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index/content/
2013-08/22/content_4786838.htm?node=20908
60. Email to EIA from Hong Kong CITES Management
Authority, January 2014.
61. EIA analysis of Global Trade Atlas(http://www.gtis.com/gta/)
62. Email from Cambodian CITES Management authority,
15 January 2014.
63. International Workshop on Promoting Legal andSustainable Trade and Investment of Forest Products,
25-27 March 2014, Beijing, China.
64. Forest Trends, 2013
65. China Redwood Committee, China Hongmu market
report 2013-2014, April 1 2014, http://art.people.com.cn/
n/2014/0401/c206244-24796467.html
66. China Classic Furniture Website, Hongmu industry getsloans from the Bank of Agriculture in Pingxiang,
December 3 2013 http://www.328f.cn/news/
news.aspx?id=27971
67. China Cultural Newspaper, Cultural Furniture: A Guangxi
example, August 25 2012,http://www.ce.cn/culture/
gd/201208/25/t20120825_23618071.shtml
68. Presentation by Zhou Mo, Cultural Relics Restoration
Committee of China, at the International Workshop on
Promoting Legal and Sustainable Trade and Investment
of Forest Products, 25-27 March 2014, Beijing, China.
69. Presentation by Zhou Mo, Cultural Relics Restoration
Committee of China, at the International Workshop on
Promoting Legal and Sustainable Trade and Investment
of Forest Products, 25-27 March 2014, Beijing, China.

25

© EIA

1.

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