Extent of the problem

The extent of illegal logging varies widely by exporting country and species.

According to an Environmental Investigation Agency report, in some countries it is as high as 60 to 80 percent. Thornton says the new amendment to the Lacey Act is a wake-up call for anyone who wants to trade in the lucrative U.S. wood products market.

He estimates about 10 percent of wood imported into the United States is illegal.

Everyone wants to export to the United States and that creates a huge incentive for producers and exporters to be in compliance with the U.S. Lacey Act. It also creates a huge disincentive for those who want to export or trade in illegal wood products.

Thornton is encouraged by the response to the law from timber exporters and forest-dependent communities who look to their local forests for fuel, food and livelihood.

"So we feel that it is a rising tide that lifts all boats in joint efforts to protect the global forests," says Thornton.

Giana ApplemanMembers of the new Forest Legality Alliance expect to help curb illegal logging.

Informed decisions

The Environmental Investigation Agency is a partner in the newly formed Forest Legality Alliance, a global initiative that includes business, government and non-profit groups.

The focus, says Adam Grant, who manages the program for the World Resources Institute, is to help industry answer some basic questions: "Where did you buy your timber? What is the volume? What is the value and is it legal? Once you get this information then you are going to be able to differentiate between a risky proposition for purchase to a less risky [purchase]."