Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Russia · 2001–2023

Hardwood logging in the Russian Far East and exports to China

Nature's voice · report
According to WWF Russia, Mongolian oak logged for export from my Primorsky and Khabarovsk forests exceeded authorised volumes by 2–4 times in 2004–2011.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • In 2010 about 905,702 m3 of oak in roundwood equivalent left my two provinces against 452,213 m3 authorised, according to WWF. WWF Russia
  • WWF reported that logging degrades key habitats of my Amur tiger and reduces its critical food supplies. WWF Russia
  • WWF reported that my Korean pine–broadleaf forests face severe degradation. WWF Russia
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 1 insufficient · 2 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Scale of illegal logging and exports in the Russian Far East
  • Researchers WWF Russia: Oak logged for export exceeded authorised volumes by 2–4 times in 2004–2011; in 2010 exports at roundwood equivalent were 200% of the permitted volume; registered illegal logging may be only a quarter of the stolen volume of one species. WWF Russia
  • Communities and civil society EIA: As much as 80 percent of timber exported annually from the region is illegal (2013); illegal logging at least 50% of harvests in eastern Russia, some estimates nearing 90% (The Open Door). Environmental Investigation Agency
  • Government and regulators Rosleskhoz (Mariyev): Illegal harvesting of about 49,000 m3 in 2011 and 23,000 m3 in 2012. Interfax
  • Government and regulators Deputy Prime Minister Abramchenko: Unrecorded, illegally harvested timber is by expert estimates 10 to 30 million m3 a year nationally; the real volumes are not known. Government of Russia

WWF Russia and the Environmental Investigation Agency reported that Mongolian oak logged in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krai for export to China exceeded authorised volumes by 2–4 times in 2004–2011. Russian officials in 2020 and 2023 gave their own estimates of unrecorded and illegally harvested timber.

905,702 m3 vs 452,213 m3Mongolian oak exported against authorised, Primorsky and Khabarovsk, 2010 (WWF Russia)
WWF Russia: roundwood equivalent of oak products exported in 2010 against the logging volume authorised by the two provinces' forest agencies.

Status As of March 2023: Rosleskhoz reported 300,000 m3 of illegal felling detected by satellite in 2022; roundwood transport has been recorded in LesEGAIS since 1 January 2022.

What?
WWF Russia and EIA reported that Mongolian oak and other hardwoods were logged in the Russian Far East for export to China in volumes above authorised levels; Russian officials gave lower detected figures and national estimates of illegal harvesting. WWF Russia
Where?
Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai, including the Bikin River basin, Dalnerechensk County and the Tayozhniy wildlife reserve (WWF). WWF Russia
When?
WWF data for 2001 and 2004–2011; EIA report 9 October 2013; official statements 2013, 2020 and 2023. WWF Russia
Who?
Gained
  • Suifenhe Xingjia Group — Lumber Liquidators was its single biggest trading partner (EIA) Environmental Investigation Agency
  • Chinese manufacturers of flooring and furniture — Exported US$9.4 billion of wood furniture and US$393 million of solid hardwood flooring to the US, EU and Japan in 2011 (WWF) WWF Russia
Lost
  • Russian state — Tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue (EIA); export duty receipts RUB 15 billion in 2016 and RUB 11 billion in 2019 (Abramchenko) Environmental Investigation Agency
Harmed
  • Amur tiger habitat and Korean pine–broadleaf forest — Habitat degradation and reduced food supplies (WWF) WWF Russia
  • Indigenous people of the region — EIA: over 100,000 indigenous people threatened Environmental Investigation Agency
Why?
WWF described intermediate and sanitary logging as loopholes and the registered share of stolen timber as small against the calculated stolen volume. WWF Russia
How?
WWF compared permitted logging volumes with the roundwood equivalent of exported oak products and with rangers' registered volumes. WWF Russia
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

WWF Russia's 2013 report, edited by D.Y. Smirnov, stated that in 2004–2011 the volume of Mongolian oak logged for export to China exceeded authorised logging volumes by 2–4 times. In 2010 the forest agencies of Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krai authorised logging of 452,213 m3 of Mongolian oak; the two provinces exported 340,780 m3 of oak products, a roundwood equivalent of at least 905,702 m3, which WWF put at 200% of the permitted volume and stated "At least half the exported oak was stolen." For 2007 and 2008 WWF reported more than 1,700,000 m3 of oak logged for export and said that, assuming similar authorised levels, illegal oak logging "could reach 400 %".

WWF reported that forest rangers registered 113,500 m3 of stolen timber in the two provinces in 2010, while by its calculation at least 451,300 m3 of Mongolian oak was stolen that year. In Primorsky Krai 691 illegal logging cases were registered in 2011, of which "only 16% made it to a trial"; in Dalnerechensk County the figure was 6%. WWF described "intermediate" and "sanitary" logging as loopholes. Pyotr Diuk, former head of the Primorsky Province Forest Management Agency, was filmed covertly in 2010 and quoted by WWF saying the agency was supposed to cut about 200 thousand m3 of oak but cut 800 thousand or a million every year.

The Environmental Investigation Agency said on 9 October 2013 that as much as 80 percent of all timber exported annually from the region is illegal, that this deprives the state of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue and threatens over 100,000 indigenous people. EIA's 2013 report on Japan's imports estimated that illegal logging comprises at least 50% of total timber harvests in eastern Russia, with some estimates nearing 90%. In June 2014 Mongolian oak was added to Appendix III of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), according to the US Department of Justice.

Russian officials gave their own figures. Rosleskhoz official A. Mariyev said in 2013 that criminal charges were brought against 65 people in the Far Eastern Federal District in the first nine months of 2012, and gave illegal harvesting of about 49,000 m3 in 2011 and 23,000 m3 in 2012. On 29 September 2020 President Putin said exports of raw timber from the Far East often go through grey or openly criminal schemes. On 21 October 2020 Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko said unrecorded, illegally harvested timber is by expert estimates 10 to 30 million m3 a year and that no one knows the real volumes. On 10 March 2023 Rosleskhoz head Ivan Sovetnikov said satellite monitoring detected 300,000 m3 of illegally felled timber in 2022.

  1. 2001WWF analysis: Primorsky's exported oak, ash and elm exceeded authorised logging by 1.5–2 times
  2. 2010Provinces authorise 452,213 m3 of Mongolian oak; exports of oak products 340,780 m3 (roundwood equivalent at least 905,702 m3); Diuk filmed covertly
  3. 2013WWF Russia report; Interfax reports WWF's 27 Feb statement; EIA publishes "Liquidating the Forests" (9 Oct)
  4. 2014Mongolian oak added to CITES Appendix III (June)
  5. 2020Putin speaks of grey or criminal export schemes (29 Sep); Abramchenko gives 10–30 million m3 a year estimate (21 Oct)
  6. 2023Rosleskhoz head reports 300,000 m3 of illegal felling detected by satellite in 2022 (10 Mar)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“from the period 2004-2011 the volume of Mongolian oak (the most valuable hardwood species) logged for export to China exceeded authorized logging volumes by 2-4 times.”

WWF Russia report (D.Y. Smirnov, ed.) · 2013 · WWF Russia

“We're supposed to cut about 200 thousand [m3] of oak, but we cut 800 or a million. Every year.”

Pyotr Diuk, former head of the Primorsky Province Forest Management Agency, filmed covertly ("Dark Forest", 2010), as quoted by WWF · 2010 · WWF Russia

“As much as 80 percent of all timber exported annually from the region is illegal.”

“Illegal logging is estimated to comprise at least 50% of total timber harvests in eastern Russia, with some estimates nearing 90%.”

“often all this goes through various grey or openly criminal export schemes. Simply put – what is it called? – they run contraband.”

President Vladimir Putin · 29 September 2020 · translated from Russian · President of Russia

“Unrecorded, illegally harvested timber, by expert estimates, amounts to 10 to 30 million m3 a year. But unfortunately no one knows the real volumes.”

Viktoria Abramchenko, Deputy Prime Minister · 21 October 2020 · translated from Russian · Government of Russia

“It is difficult to precisely quantify the wood flows from the Russian Far East through China.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Scale of illegal logging and exports in the Russian Far East
Researchers
WWF Russia

Oak logged for export exceeded authorised volumes by 2–4 times in 2004–2011; in 2010 exports at roundwood equivalent were 200% of the permitted volume; registered illegal logging may be only a quarter of the stolen volume of one species.

WWF Russia
Communities and civil society
EIA

As much as 80 percent of timber exported annually from the region is illegal (2013); illegal logging at least 50% of harvests in eastern Russia, some estimates nearing 90% (The Open Door).

Environmental Investigation Agency
Government and regulators
Rosleskhoz (Mariyev)

Illegal harvesting of about 49,000 m3 in 2011 and 23,000 m3 in 2012.

Interfax
Government and regulators
Deputy Prime Minister Abramchenko

Unrecorded, illegally harvested timber is by expert estimates 10 to 30 million m3 a year nationally; the real volumes are not known.

Government of Russia

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Illegal logging threatens valuable forests in Primorsky Krai; about 900,000 m3 of Mongolian oak logged per year in Primorsky against a permitted 450,000.
    Igor Chestin, director of WWF Russia, via Interfax · Interfax
  • Detected illegal harvesting of about 49,000 m3 in 2011 and 23,000 m3 in 2012; criminal charges against 65 people in the first nine months of 2012.
    A. Mariyev, Rosleskhoz, via Interfax · Interfax

Recorded

  • WWF 2001 analysis: Primorsky's exported oak, ash and elm exceeded authorised logging by 1.5–2 times. Primorsky Krai Duma data cited by WWF: permitted Manchurian ash logging declined from 272,000 m3 to 191,100 m3 (1996–1999) while exports rose from 267,000 to 363,000 m3.
    WWF Russia
  • Prosecution rates (WWF): 691 illegal logging cases registered in Primorsky Krai in 2011, 16% reaching trial; 6% in Dalnerechensk County; 66% of illegal logging sentences concern perpetrators who harvested less than 10 m3.
    WWF Russia
  • 2011 trade context (WWF): Russia supplied about 25% of China's roundwood and sawnwood imports; the Far East exported more than 260,000 m3 of valuable hardwood logs and 447,000 m3 of sawnwood; China exported US$9.4 billion of wood furniture and US$393 million of solid hardwood flooring to the US, EU and Japan.
    WWF Russia
  • Interfax (2013) reported that less than 1% of damages were recovered as compensation.
    Interfax
  • 2019 (Abramchenko): recorded harvest 219 million m3; timber exports about US$8 billion, 42% to China; export duty receipts fell from RUB 15 billion in 2016 to RUB 11 billion in 2019.
    Government of Russia
  • Since 1 January 2022 all roundwood transport is recorded in LesEGAIS: 8.5 million documents covering more than 550 million m3 (Sovetnikov, 2023).
    Government of Russia
  • CITES: Mongolian oak added to Appendix III in June 2014.
    US Department of Justice
  • Suifenhe Xingjia Group's single biggest trading partner was Lumber Liquidators, according to EIA.
    Environmental Investigation Agency

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Chinese exports of wood furniture to the US, EU and Japan (WWF)$9.4bn
Window: 2011
Chinese exports of solid hardwood flooring to the US, EU and Japan (WWF)$393m
Window: 2011
Russian timber exports, China taking 42% (Abramchenko)≈ $8bn
Window: 2019
Currency: USD · Window: Mixed — see each line. Figures cover different periods and are not compared as a ratio. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • russia-gov (21 October 2020): Deputy Prime Minister Abramchenko said unrecorded, illegally harvested timber is by expert estimates 10 to 30 million m3 a year and that no one knows the real volumes. · Government of Russia
  • russia-gov (29 September 2020): President Putin said raw timber exports from the Far East often go through grey or openly criminal schemes. · President of Russia
  • rosleskhoz (2013): A. Mariyev gave detected illegal harvesting of about 49,000 m3 in 2011 and 23,000 m3 in 2012 and 65 people charged in the first nine months of 2012. · Interfax

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Oak authorised vs exported
452,213 m3 vs 905,702 m3
Primorsky and Khabarovsk, 2010; export roundwood equivalent (WWF)
Stolen oak, 2010
at least 451,300 m3
WWF calculation, against 113,500 m3 of stolen timber registered by rangers
Cases reaching trial
16%
691 illegal logging cases registered in Primorsky Krai in 2011 (WWF)
Detected by satellite, 2022
300,000 m3
Illegally felled timber, Rosleskhoz head, 2023

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court caseNo independent ecological evaluation

Nature

  • Disputed Scale of illegal logging and exports in the Russian Far East

Court

Record

  • Disputed Disputed: the scale of illegality. WWF gives 2–4 times the permitted oak volume; EIA gives up to 80% of exports and 50–90% of harvests; Rosleskhoz gave detected volumes of 49,000 m3 (2011) and 23,000 m3 (2012); the federal estimate for the whole country is 10–30 million m3 a year.
  • Unclear Unclear: who gave the Interfax figure that less than 1% of damages were recovered; the text does not attribute it.
  • None on record None on record: a tiger population trend attributed to logging.
  • None on record None on record: statements from Chinese importers, or direct statements from Udege communities in the Bikin basin.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: WWF states that registered illegal logging may be only a quarter of the actual stolen volume of one tree species, and that wood flows through China are difficult to quantify.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the real volumes of illegally harvested timber; Abramchenko said no one knows them.

Did the harm stop?

None on record.

Who paid?

None on record. Interfax reported that less than 1% of damages were recovered as compensation.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

Government and regulators

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

  2. Liquidating the Forests (report page)
    Environmental Investigation Agency · 2013-10-09
  3. Lumber Liquidators importing illegal hardwood flooring
    Environmental Investigation Agency · 2013-10-09

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Bonds and banking

Liquidation, insolvency, bankruptcy
Legal processes that apply when a company cannot pay its debts; its assets are sold and claims against it may go unpaid.
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