Trade and certification impacts on tropical forests

Significant trade in tropical wood is limited to a few countries. The most important trends in tropical wood trade are: (1) the growing importance of plywood and finished wood products, such as furniture and the declining importance of log trade; and (2) the growing importance of South-South trade and declining importance of North-South trade. These trends suggest that the world is moving toward a bi-polar wood trading system: South-South trade in tropical wood, and North-North trade in temperate and boreal wood. The declining importance of the United States and European Union as markets for tropical wood suggests that trade in certified tropical wood products may not be an effective way for northern countries to induce tropical countries to adopt sustainable forest management practices.