The seizure in May of timber from the lumberyard of a Chinese businessman in the eastern Panamanian province of Darién has heightened worries about widespread illegal logging in Panama that is aimed mainly at meeting Chinese demand for exotic woods. Officials say the seizure of 1,800 cubic meters of US$500,000 in timber underscores a big problem: some 96% of the wood taken from the Darién, the nation’s richest forestland, is harvested illegally. Lumberyards, Chinese timber concerns and ranchers—until now unmolested by regulators—have deforested an estimated 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) annually. The seizure was part of a push by the one-year-old government of President Juan Carlos Varela to boost forest enforcement and reforestation, and to reform the 1994 forestry code. The... [Log in to read more]