Abstract
Forest degradation in the Brazilian Amazon is driven by factors such as fire, mining, and illegal logging. The Brazilian government has implemented control mechanisms to combat illegal timber extraction that have positively impacted deforestation rates. Under these regulations, all wood products, from raw logs to processed lumber, must be registered in control systems before transportation. This allows analysis of wood products transported between companies over time. However, the existence of three partially integrated control systems complicates a full analysis of the timber market. This study integrates data from these systems to create Timber Trade Networks (TTNs), which help identify companies or groups operating outside expected standards. We also propose a method to trace probable supply chains of timber companies, addressing long-standing government concerns about timber traceability. Among the results, we show that certain TTNs have components that operate without connections with licensed forests, suggesting that unregistered timber is input into those components, which is illegal. Additionally, we illustrate how supply chain analysis can significantly enhance customer confidence in the legality of purchased timber products.
Materials
BibTeX
@article{2025-TimberChain, title = {Assessing timber trade networks and supply chains in Brazil}, author = {Luis Gustavo Nonato AND Victor Russo AND Bernardo Costa AND Felipe Moreno-Vera AND Guilherme Toledo AND Osni Brito de Jesus AND Robson Vieira AND Marco Lentini AND Jorge Poco}, journal = {Nature Sustainability}, year = {2025}, url = {http://www.visualdslab.com/papers/TimberChain}, }