At current rates the forests will be gone within 50 years, the groups estimate. Due to the depletion of its forests, Vietnam now imports timber illegally from Cambodia. But a photograph published in February 1998 by Global Witness shows Vietnamese log trucks carrying illegally imported Cambodian logs into Vietnam. Villagers are denied access to logging concessions which have taken over land and forests on which they have relied for their livelihoods for many generations. Logging also silts up rivers and streams, causing flooding and droughts.
Local communities suffer also because logging damages farming and fishing.
The World Bank has now warned that Cambodia's forests could be commercially logged out within five years. The Cambodian forests are home to many endangered species such as elephants, Javan rhinoceros, tigers and bears. Much of this money funds Cambodia's military budget, according to Global Witness. The only way to be sure that your garden furniture is from well managed forests is to buy UK produced timber, or timber products which carry the Forest Stewardship Council logo. Products from accredited forests are marked with a FSC logo.