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To read this release in German, please click here. VIENNA— In a report released today, the U.S. Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) provided new evidence to the business practices by the Austrian company “Holzindustrie Schweighofer” (Schweighofer) in Romania. The report documents how Schweighofer processes large amounts of illegally harvested timber from Romanian forests into semi-finished wood […]

Romania is home to Europe’s last remaining virgin forests and some of the continent’s largest populations of bears, wolves, and lynx. Theseforests are under serious threat due to rampant illegal logging. Over a multi-year investigation, EIA documented this illegal logging and found a major driver behind this destruction was an Austrian-based timber and wood processing […]

EIA’s report, Stealing the Last Forest: Austria’s Largest Timber Company, Land Rights, and Corruption in Romania, provides new evidence to Schweighofer’s illegal business practices and documents the many types of illegalities prevailing in Romania’s forests. In nearly every case investigated, the illicit wood arrived at Schweighofer’s mills. The report also identifies Europe’s largest buyers of […]

Despite reports about the devastating impacts of oil palm expansion on forests and indigenous peoples, the Peruvian government continues to promote oil palm development, supposedly as a viable economic alternative in the fight against drug trafficking, migratory agriculture, and poverty. Recently, the government announced the creation of the Multisectoral Commission on Oil Palm, which will […]

Largest Flooring Retailer Settles with Department of Justice Over Violation of the Lacey ActTo read this release in Japanese, click here. To read in Chinese, click here. To read in Spanish, click here. For the latest in this story, click here. WASHINGTON, D.C.—Announced today, Lumber Liquidators, the largest hardwood flooring retailer in the United States, […]

The certification body PEFC has closed its complaint against Holzindustrie Schweighofer (Schweighofer), despite an investigation by the Romanian Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests that concluded the company has been involved in various illegal activities. The Romanian government report was handed over to the national prosecutor in July 2015. Alexander von Bismarck, Executive Director […]