The global timber market grew to almost one trillion dollars in 2022, and with a compound annual growth rate of 10%, the industry is growing very rapidly. For such a large and advanced industry, you may be surprised to learn that as much as 30% of the global supply of timber is harvested by illegal logging activities, according to the UN Environment Programme. In tropical countries, the percentage of timber harvested illegally is as high as 90%. This massive amount of illegal logging activity has a negative impact on the environment, and the 80% of the world’s land-based biodiversity that call forests their home. It also creates problems for law-abiding timber companies that face unfair competition from illegal loggers that can undercut them.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.edgeimpulse.com/blog/logging-illegal-logging-with-ml