Topic: lacey act

This publication is part of a series of case studies is intended to show commercial buyers of wood and paper-based products how their supply chains can conform with U.S. legal requirements on importing certain types of wood. The case studies, compiled by the Forest Legality Alliance, draw lessons from emerging best practices for managing risk in high-risk contexts.

This study focuses on two mahogany supply chains that originate in remote, biodiversity-rich forests in Honduras. The wood is harvested by community cooperatives and used to make guitars in the United States. The issue brief describes two approaches buyers use to minimize the risk of sourcing illegal wood. The first approach is to establish strong relationships with suppliers, and the second is to prefer certified wood.

This series of case studies is intended to show commercial buyers of wood and paper-based products how their supply chains can conform with U.S. legal requirements on importing certain types of wood. The case studies, compiled by the Forest Legality Alliance (FLA), draw lessons from emerging best practices for managing risk in high-risk contexts.

In this case, WRI worked with IKEA on a demonstration study focused on the production of a composite product (board materials such as particle board, Medium Density Fiber Board, etc). We looked at the controls needed to procure the raw material for this product’s manufacture. The study reviews how IKEA’s internal systems work to ensure that source materials are purchased with an adequate level of due care.

One of the goals of this report is to initiate a discussion with policy makers and the private sector on implementation of due care systems to ensure that materials are sourced legally. Specifically, we hope to address how the United States can import composite products that are largely made up of waste materials and produced by a number of diverse, small producers within a weak local governance system while still showing a high level of due care. One focus is the level of detail that IKEA is trying to achieve. The report looks at this policy’s applicability in the field and its practicability for Lacey Act’s reporting requirements.

This Forest Note puts forward a systematic approach to analyzing the Indonesian forestry sector in order to identify which forest laws and regulations are being disobeyed and where.