The Bottom Line Up Front

Mapping illegal deforestation supply chains.

Illegal deforestation – worth up to $152 billion annually according to USAID –destroys the environment, threatens local communities, supports corrupt officials, robs local economies of their natural wealth, and can finance armed or criminal groups. Due to a lack of transparency and traceability, illegally harvested timber and agricultural products can easily be laundered into legal supply chains, eventually making their way into the households of unwitting consumers.

C4ADS works to protect the world’s forests from unsustainable exploitation by increasing transparency, traceability, and accountability in the timber and agricultural industries. We examine concession data, map ownership and affiliated companies, and conduct global trade analysis for companies linked to illegal deforestation. In doing so, we identify and expose the facilitators and perpetrators of illegal deforestation in order to safeguard the world’s forests for generations to come.