Research project IM/RT/22/ENFORCE (Research action IM)
A substantial part of timber trade is illegal and illegal logging is considered the most profitable breach of biodiversity regulations. 27.5% of total primary tropical timber imports into the European Union are imported through Belgium (mainly through the port of Antwerp). Belgium thus plays a key role in the international timber trade and has an important responsibility to (1) monitor trade in timber and timber products and (2) build research capacity for timber identification and apply it in an enforcement context.
Given the enormity of the illegal timber trade and its associated problems, the Restart and Transition Plan initiates the instauration of a Belgian forensic timber identification centre at the RMCA. The RMCA's wood collection is among the largest in the world, comprising more than 80,000 wood samples, including more than 13,000 species. This Forensic Wood Research Centre will be the Belgian reference centre for wood identification and include both scientific services and scientific research.
