A new investigation by the Environment Investigation Agency (EIA) has uncovered evidence of illegalities in Colombia’s timber supply chain – home to some of the most biodiverse forests on earth – revealing that timber exported to the United States, Canada, and the European Union as decking and flooring products could be linked to organized crime.
The report, Decking the Forest, reveals that, from 2020 to 2023, 94% of Colombia’s wood decking and flooring exports—amounting to about US$24 million in trade—lack the mandatory certification required to prove legal origin – many of these exports reached the US, Europe, and Canada where laws including the Lacey Act, the European Union’s Timber Regulation and the soon-to-be-established European Union’s Deforestation Regulation prohibit illegal timber imports.
“The findings of this investigation also lay bare how some Afro-Colombian communities in Colombia’s Pacific region are coerced into logging their forests under abusive arrangements that leave them in debt, with some claiming they suffer conditions akin to slavery.”
Susanne Breitkopf, EIA’s Deputy Director for Forests Campaign
It found that 20% of uncertified decking and flooring exports were traded amongst sixteen American firms, including Cedro Rojo, Amazon Hardwoods, Brazilian Lumber (which holds FSC chain-of-custody certification (FSC-C125400)), and Sabra International, which acted as a gateway into the highly lucrative North American and European markets.
Key findings in the report
Identified in the 42-page report, Los Cedros Hardwood Flooring, a prominent timber exporter from the Colombian Pacific, admitted to investigators that it paid off illegal armed groups in Chocó and Antioquia—areas deeply affected by narco-trafficking and conflict—to facilitate its logging business. Another top exporter taking timber from the Colombian Pacific, Maderas Santa Rita, was found to have no certificates validating the timber’s legal origin between 2020 and May 2023.
Meanwhile, timber linked to the exporter C.I. Casa en Madera was traced to concessions where no logging occurred, raising concerns of possible timber laundering. At the same time, the EIA also found evidence that the regional environmental authority Corpoamazonia may have falsified supervision reports of those concessions—none of its exports were found to have the required certificates, either.
In a statement provided to Wood Central, the EIA said the report highlights enforcement failures by Colombian authorities, despite legal requirements under paragraph 1 of article 7 of Resolution 1367 of 2000 from Colombia’s Ministry of Environment to issue the certificates for export. In parallel, it also found that US and EU firms importing these products appear to have failed to conduct proper due care under the Lacey Act or the due diligence required by the European Union Timber Regulation, laws prohibiting the entry of illegal timber.
On March 27, 2025, the U.S.-Colombia Secretariat for Environmental Enforcement Matters, which was established under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, determined that the concerns raised [by EIA] about non-compliance with environmental legislation…, particularly regarding the enforcement of Resolution 1367 of 2000, remain unresolved, as the Party’s response [the Colombian government] confirms the potential inadequacy in complying with the issued legal resolution…
“The EIA urges the proper enforcement of laws in Colombia, the EUTR and the Lacey Act, as well as for the Colombian government to enhance traceability by making timber supply chain data accessible to the public and verifiable, including information on timber harvesting, transport, processing and export of wood products. These steps are essential to prevent illegal timber from entering national and international markets and build accountability throughout the supply chain,” it said in a statement.
- To learn more about the role that organised crime is playing in driving deforestation and illegal timber in the Amazon, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from last year.
