Soldiers and smugglers strip South Sudan’s valuable teak forests

In January, South Sudan’s Environment and Forestry Minister Josephine Napwon stopped the issuing of logging permits to protect teak and other endangered tree species. Concerns have been growing over the smuggling of South Sudanese teak to meet high demand, mostly from India and, to a lesser extent, the Netherlands.

Teak, known as the “king of woods”, has been listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2004. And although trade in the species from South Sudan has been banned by Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), logging continues.

Teak is a durable tropical hardwood used for high-quality furniture, luxury yachts, boats and construction. It is South Sudan’s second most valuable raw material after oil, with more than 100,000 tons of the timber exported to world markets every year, according to media outlet The Elephant. 

According to the World Bank, South Sudan could earn up to $150-million in revenue annually from teak, but instead brings in just $2-million, with the rest leaving the country illegally.

Smuggling on this scale is causing environmental degradation, soil erosion and loss of natural resources. Plantations in the south of the country near the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda have been decimated by illegal logging. 

The illicit activity is facilitated by armed groups, including the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In-Opposition, says Justin Khamis, a Juba-based border security expert. According to the UN Security Council’s South Sudan expert panel, some SSPDF members participate in felling the trees, while others supervise and protect loggers. Some loggers work for South Sudanese companies that have links to the military.

Civil wars

The involvement of South Sudanese soldiers is linked to the civil wars that divided the army into two factions, says former defence minister Angelina Teny. A lack of pay may have induced military personnel to participate in illegal logging to earn a living.

These armed groups also facilitate teak smuggling from South Sudan into Uganda’s northern Moyo District. Environmental activists accuse South Sudan’s military of colluding with corrupt administrative and border officials to transport the wood into Uganda.

Ugandan administrative officials write authorisation letters to facilitate the movement of harvested teak across the border and into the country. Fake certificates of origin are then prepared in Uganda to help transport the timber, disguised as Ugandan products, to Kenya’s Mombasa Port.

Kenyan investigative journalist John-Allan Namu says that once in Uganda, South Sudanese teak is mixed with teak from the DRC and declared Ugandan, allowing it to be exported through Kenya to international markets.

South Sudanese teak shipments are shipped from Mombasa to India, the destination for about 73% of illegally exported South Sudanese teak, according to The Elephant.

Although India has teak plantations, global demand for raw and processed teak products exceeds domestic production. South Sudanese teak is used either to manufacture products falsely declared as originating in India, or the wood is transported from India to Rotterdam’s port in the Netherlands. 

False certificates of origin from corrupt Indian Chamber of Commerce officers enable smugglers to bypass the European Union’s (EU) timber regulation, which bans illegally logged or smuggled wood from the EU.

Evidence of online teak sales on Facebook and other platforms highlights regulatory shortcomings in South Sudan and countries receiving the timber. Companies selling teak online are often unregistered and operate unnoticed, with loggers venturing deep into South Sudan’s forests without proper authorisation or legal documentation.

DNA databases

Developing DNA databases for high-value timber in Africa would be a first step towards addressing this problem. With DNA markers unique to specific regions, authorities could use portable sequencing devices to trace illegal shipments back to their origin, even if the timber is processed or disguised. DNA databases can also be developed and used in collaboration with international timber traders and regulatory bodies.

These databases can be used with electronic wood tracking like that implemented in Ghana. This includes a timber legality assurance system that relies on data collected throughout the supply chain, enabling real-time reconciliation and identification of anomalies in wood flows.

Similar databases such as Africa-Twix and the Central Africa Forest Observatory, with platforms like the Open Timber Portal managed by the World Resources Institute, help enhance forest governance and monitor natural resources. These databases ensure the traceability of timber, promote information exchange and foster regional cooperation.

Using databases and tracking systems allows for more effective law enforcement, identification of smuggling routes and disruption of illegal trade networks. They can also be deterrents, as smugglers realise their activities can be tracked and traced.

However, such technology is only valuable if backed by operational support from law enforcement and customs officials along the teak trading value chain. South Sudan faces myriad security and governance challenges, and remains institutionally weak. The borders with Uganda and Kenya are porous, and reports of corruption among officials abound.

Civil society and the media, among other stakeholders, should raise these issues nationally and regionally. Information on incidents and the impact of teak smuggling on the environment and society is essential. Placing pressure on governments, businesses and consumers to disrupt this trade is vital to such advocacy work.

International organisations such as the IUCN and World Customs Organization must recognise that institutional vulnerabilities — particularly in South Sudan — require a more proactive collaboration with the South Sudanese and other countries in the region. DM

Josephine Muthama is an Intern and Willis Okumu a Senior Researcher at Enact, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Nairobi.

Enact is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Institute for Security Studies in partnership with Interpol and the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. 

First published by ISS Today.