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Washington, DC: EIA’s latest report - “The Illegal Logging Crisis in Honduras” - details how U.S. and E.U. imports of illegal Honduran wood increase poverty, fuel corruption and devastate forests and communities.

The result of a year-long undercover investigation by EIA, the report documents how U.S. imports of illegal Honduran wood increase poverty, fuel corruption and devastate forests and communities.

The report names the U.S. firms, including Home Depot, that profit from the trade, and offers recommendations to the Honduran and US government on how to end this crisis. Those speaking at the news conference included: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, adjunct professor, Georgetown University; Ambassador Robert White (ret), president, Center for International Policy; Allan Thornton, president, Environmental Investigation Agency; and Father Andres Tamayo, 2005 Goldman Environmental Award Winner and leader, Environmental Movement of Olancho (Honduras).

According to Allan Thornton, EIA's investigation and report "document an epic tragedy for Honduras. We discovered a far-reaching web of corruption and illegalities involving politicians, bureaucrats, timber companies, mayors, police and other officials. The US is the biggest importer of Honduran timber; EIA is calling on the US government to urgently enact the commitment they made at the G8 summit to stop the import of illegal wood."

Illegal logging is destabilizing democracy and weakening civil society in Honduras. Robert White stated: "The U.S. demand for this illegally harvested Honduran timber is helping to propel a rogue industry that destroys ecosystems, rots democratic institutions and harms the people, especially the poorest Hondurans, whose lives depend on healthy forests."

Honduran officials have broken promises to help end the illegal trade. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend said: "Last year, I joined activists in the Honduran capitol to challenge the government to introduce the rule of law in the forest. The president of the Congress, Pepe Lobo, himself a former chief of the Honduran forest agency, promised he would work with Father Tamayo and the people of Honduras to protect the forests. This report released today demonstrates that every promise has been broken."

Father Tamayo issued a plea for assistance: "In light of these shameful acts, we ask for the solidarity, support, and protection of the authorities, organizations and the good people of the United States of America to help our environmental leaders and the community that defends the rights of the people."

The report details steps that must be taken in the U.S. to stop the trade in illegal wood:

-- Retailers, like Home Depot must follow their own internal guidelines and refuse to buy timber from these illegal loggers;

-- The Bush Administration must act on its many unfulfilled prior
commitments to clamp down on illegal timber imports from Central America;

-- The U.S. government must act to stop the flood of cheap, illegal wood from Honduras by supporting the listing of Honduran Pine on Appendix 3 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Agreements (CITES) with a strict export quota limited to verifiably legal wood

-- The U.S. must also link debt aid with a requirement that the Honduras Government guarantee its citizens' freedom from the constant death threats intended to destroy the anti-illegal logging movement.

To view the report Illegal Logging Crisis in Honduras visit:
http://www.eia-international.org/files/reports112-1.pdf

La crisis de la tala ilegal en Honduras (versión en Español):
http://www.eia-international.org/files/reports113-1.pdf

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