Logging and illegal timber threaten Cameroon's forestsCEFR B1
16 Dec 2025
Adapted from Jean Sovon, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Angelo Casto, Unsplash
Cameroon’s forests cover nearly 22 million hectares and about 45% of the national territory. They form the second‑largest rainforest ecosystem in the Congo Basin after the Democratic Republic of the Congo and act as important carbon sinks and habitats for wildlife.
Demand for tropical species such as ayous, sapelli, tali and bubinga rose from the early 1990s. The government introduced a legal framework for timber in 1994 with quotas and reforestation obligations, but enforcement has been weak in practice. In one recent assessment many concessions produced large volumes of logs for markets in Asia and Europe.
Exports to Europe dropped sharply between 2010 and 2020, and buyers shifted to Asia. Weak enforcement and organised illegal networks use falsified documents, altered volume reports and porous borders to launder timber. Neighbouring countries are used to disguise shipments.
The result is severe pressure on biodiversity, harm to local communities and large losses in state revenue, and it is unclear how authorities will stop these combined pressures.
Difficult words
- biodiversity — variety of plant and animal life
- enforcement — making people follow rules or laws
- concession — area given to a company to useconcessions
- quota — official limit on how much allowedquotas
- reforestation — planting trees to replace lost forests
- launder — hide illegal origin of goods or money
- carbon sink — natural place that stores carbon dioxidecarbon sinks
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How might local communities be harmed by large-scale logging in their area?
- What practical steps could authorities take to reduce illegal timber trade in this region?
- Would you support stricter checks on timber exports if this raised the price of wood products? Why or why not?
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