The Ikea Effect: How the Furniture Giant's Demand Impacts Romania's Old-Growth Forests | Alex Sammon

Journalist Alex Sammon joins Emma to discuss his article about violent attacks on journalists investigating deforestation in Romania.

Read Alex's piece here: https://newrepublic.com/article/165245/ikea-romania-europe-old-growth-forest

Romania is home to some of Europe's last old-growth forests, but corruption, privatization, and the timber industry's rapid growth have led to rampant illegal logging. The European Commission initiated infringement proceedings against Romania for allowing logging in protected Natura 2000 zones without environmental assessments. However, this threat of stricter regulations has encouraged a rush to extract timber from these areas, further endangering Romania's forests. Ikea, the world's largest furniture company, is a major consumer of Romanian wood, with its demand for timber growing rapidly. The complex supply chain makes it challenging to trace the origin of wood, leaving room for illegal and unsustainable practices to persist. Ikea's reliance on the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification has also faced criticism, as FSC audits can be manipulated or lack rigorous oversight.

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Image Credit, European Wilderness Society
https://wilderness-society.org/illegal-logging-and-the-fsc-logo-does-it-make-a-difference-to-romania/
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Image has been cropped and color has been altered.