Many countries have enacted log export ban policies to protect forests or to bolster their domestic timber industry. Below is a non-exhaustive list of export bans.
(Last updated November 2013)
| Country | Product and applicability | Year first enacted* |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | ||
| Cameroon | Log export restrictions to progressively increase the share of local processing. Export ban that applies to some hardwood species (e.g., iroko, moabi, bibolo, wenge and bubinga). | 1999 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | Unprocessed logs export ban. Log export ban for high-value timber species. | 1976 |
| Gabon | Export ban on logs, boules and through cut logs. | 1976 |
| Ghana | Ban on all exports of raw logs | 1994 |
| Madagascar | Export ban on unworked wood of valuable species such as palissandra and voamboana. | 1975 |
| Mozambique | Ban on the export of raw logs | 2007 |
| Nigeria | Log export ban. | 1976 |
| America | ||
| Belize | Rosewood logging and export ban. | 2012 |
| Brazil | Log export ban; moratorium on mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla, CITES Appendix II) exports. Certain wood exports (e.g., imbuia, virola) are subject to specific rules and require prior authorization from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (Ibama). | 1969 |
| Bolivia | Export of unprocessed forestry products is subject to restrictions and highly regulated. | 1996 |
| Canada | Restrictions on log exports from British Columbia. There are a variety of federal and provincial regulations regarding log exports. | 1906 |
| Chile | Logging ban on Araucaria araucana and Fitzroya cupressoides (both CITES Appendix I). | 1976 |
| Colombia | Restrictions on log exports from natural forests. Only roundwood from planted forests can be exported. |
1997 |
| Costa Rica | Log export ban, and export ban on roughly squared wood from specific species. | 1986 |
| Ecuador | Roundwood export ban, except in limited quantities for scientific and experimental purposes. Semi-finished forest products exports are allowed only when “domestic needs and the minimum levels of industrialization have been met.” | |
| Guatemala | Exports of logs of more than 11 cm in diameter are banned, unless they originate from plantations. Ban does not apply to furniture and processed products made from wood. Guatemala established a national red list of trees to protect in 2006. The 81 species in Category One are banned from export and commercial uses. | 1996, 2006 |
| Guyana | 2009 national log export policy introduced phased-in commission rates on exports of key species, including Bagassa guianensis (cow wood), Cedrela fissilis, C. odorata (red cedar), Diplotropis purpurea (tatabu), Dipteryx odorata (tonka bean), greenheart, Humiria balsamifera (tauroniro), Hymenolobium flavum (darina), hububalli, Jacaranda copaia (futui), kabukalli, letterwood, Licaria canella (brown silverballi), Loxopterygium sagotii (hububalli), Manilkara bidentata (bulletwood), mora, Ocotea rubra (determa), Ocotea puberula (keriti silverballi), Parahancornia fasciculata (dukali), Piratinera guianensis (letterwood), purpleheart, shibadan, Tabebuia serratifolia (washiba), Tabebuia capitata or insignis (hakia), Terminalia amazonica (fukadi), Swartzia benthamiana (itikiboroballi), wallaba, wamara, and washiba. Only companies holding forest concessions are permitted to export logs. |
2009 |
| Honduras | Export ban on hardwood and sawnwood | 1998 |
| Nicaragua | Precious hardwoods export ban (mahogany, royal cedar and pochote). Mahogany exports are allowed only in the form of sawn wood, plywood or veneered wood. Sawn wood exports require a license. | 1997 |
| Panama | Export ban of logs, stumps, roundwood or sawn wood of any species from natural forests, as well as from wood submerged in water. | 2002 |
| Paraguay | Log export ban. | 2002 |
| Peru | Log export ban. Export of forest products “in their natural state” is prohibited except when they originate from nurseries, forest plantations, and if they do not require processing for final consumption. | 1972 |
| United States | Ban on exports of unprocessed roundwood harvested from federal lands in Alaska; Forest Resources Conservation and Shortage Relief Act (1990): 100% export ban on logs from Federal lands west of the 100 th meridian, except timber surplus to needs, and 1995 ban on log exports from State and other public lands (excluding Indian land) west of the 100th meridian. | 1926; 1990 |
| Venezuela | Log export ban for five species: caoba, cedro, mijao, pardillo, pau d’arco. | 2001 |
| Asia & Pacific | ||
| Cambodia | Log export ban. | 1994 |
| Fiji | Log export ban. | 1995 |
| Indonesia | Log export ban. Ban amended in 2009 to allow plantation-grown logs to be exported. | 1985 |
| Laos | Export ban on logs, roundwood, sawn wood and semi-finished products sourced from natural forests. | 1989 |
| Malaysia | In 1972, a ban was imposed on the export of ten species (East Malaysia excluded), and the log export quota introduced in 1976. | 1972, 1976 |
| New Zealand | Export ban on most logs, chips, and sawn timber from natural forests, along with harvesting restrictions to areas with approved sustainable forest management plans | 1993 |
| Papua New Guinea | Quotas on allowable logs for export, now replaced by log export duties. | 1996 |
| Philippines | Log export ban. | 1986 |
| Sri Lanka | Log export ban. | 1990 |
| Thailand | Log export ban. | 1989 |
| Vietnam | Log export ban; export ban on sawn timber from wood harvested from natural forests. | 1992 |
| * Year in which the log ban was first enacted. There are cases where the bans have been rescinded temporarily or expanded. Wood importers from these countries should consult local authorities or local stakeholders for the most up-to-date information on trade restrictions.
Sources: African Timber Organization, 2006; Barney and Canby, 2011; Bird, Fometè & Birikorang, 2006; Cerruti & Tacconi, 2006; EIA, 2012; Goetzl & Elström, 2007; Guyana Forestry Commission, 2007; Illegal-logging.info, 2011; ITTO, 2010; ITTO, 2011; Kim, 2010; Llyewellyn, 2012; Olfield, 1998; Sesay, 2010. |
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