European Union Agriculture Ministers recently agreed to introduce measures under The Forests Law Enforcement Governance & Trade (FLEGT). This will encourage voluntary agreements on timber to be made between countries producing timber and European countries importing it.

WWF believes the regulation is fundamentally flawed and, on its own, is destined to fail in its aim to control illegal logging or tackle the wider issue of responsible forest management. It does not prevent illegal timber going via third countries such as China and ending up in the EU, and it does not cover pulp or paper — responsible for a significant proportion of the EU's timber imports.

In order to plug the critical gaps left by the trade deal, WWF is calling for EU-wide legislation to prohibit the importation of illegal timber into the EU, regardless of the country of origin. This call has been supported by more than 180 non-governmental organizations and 80 timber countries worldwide.

"The UK government is falsely hailing this trade deal a huge environmental success," said Beatrix Richards, Senior WWF Forests Policy Officer. "The reality is that rather than encouraging responsible forest management, these measures may actually contribute to the laundering of illegal timber via third countries and further undermine efforts to reduce poverty and help preserve the world's forests."

"The UK has a golden opportunity during its EU Presidency to take a stand for the world's forests by introducing a new law to stop illegal timber coming into the EU," he added.

It is estimated that up to 50 per cent of tropical hardwood imported into Europe is from illegal sources, which is having a significant impact on the depletion of the world's most threatened rainforests.

Annually, illegal timber imports into the UK account for a forest loss of an area five and a half times that of the size of Hong Kong.