The rapid rise of rosewood trafficking in West Africa

In some situations, better legislation might have prevented an ecological catastrophe. One such example is the recent extraction of thousands of tons of an environmentally important timber species in West Africa. In the absence of appropriate laws, this resource—though illegally exported—was legally imported. The article provides a case study of the tremendous challenges surrounding legal and equitable resource extraction in many developing countries. As the economies of these countries will be based on natural resource extraction for the foreseeable future, management of this process will deeply inform the way these countries develop. And because they are poor, these countries will require international assistance to regulate extraction.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Life Below Water

Life on Land