From Chainsaw to Chainstore

During the past decade, illegal logging and trade have been identified as factors contributing to tropical rain forest loss. This concern has implications for timber commodity chains linking tropical forests and producers in Africa with markets and consumers in Europe as these chains are not necessarily legal, sustainable or equitable. Policy and regulatory solutions are needed to address these complex problems. This book contributes to this debate through its exploration of the global dimensions of the trade between Cameroon and Europe, investigating notions of illegality in these chains and how regulations and industrial practices shape categories of access to the forest resources and benefits of timber production. The research demonstrates how a complex interplay between production, regulation and market processes can create different categories of access, incentives for corruption and turn regulatory instruments into derivative commodities. These findings identify the need for more careful assessment of the complex impacts of well-intentioned sustainable development policy and highlight the value of political ecology-oriented commodity chain studies.