In January 2025, South Sudan’s Minister of Environment and Forestry, Josephine Napwon, ordered all state authorities to stop issuing permits for logging, hoping this would reduce the illegal issuing of permits for logging teak and other endangered tree species.
The order comes amid growing concern over the illegal and unsustainable logging and export of South Sudanese teak to meet high overseas demand from India and, to a lesser extent, the Netherlands.
Even though teak – the ‘king of woods’ – has been listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered since 2004, and trade in teak from South Sudan has been banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the logging continues.
A durable tropical hardwood used to manufacture high-quality furniture, luxury yachts, boats and construction, teak is the country’s second most valuable raw material after oil. Research firm C4ADS says over 100 000 tonnes of teak are exported from South Sudan to the world market every year. According to the World Bank, South Sudan could earn up to US$150 million in revenue annually from teak but the reality is that it only earns US$2 million, with the rest leaving the country illegally.
The activity is leading to environmental degradation, soil erosion and loss of natural resources. Illegal logging has decimated plantations in the Gulumbi, Wudabi and Panyume payams (administrative areas) of Central Equatoria near the borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, as well as in the Imatong Mountains and Dongotomea forests in Eastern Equatoria State. Reports show that Lantoto National Park in Yei River County, forest reserves in Western Equatoria and trees in Western Bahr el Ghazal have also been targeted.
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Illegal logging in Morobo County, South Sudan
 Source: Annika McGinnins, InfoNile and Denis Logonyi |
This illicit activity is facilitated by armed groups, including the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In-Opposition, according to Justin Khamis, a Juba-based border security expert who spoke to ENACT. Reports reveal that some SSPDF members participate in the illegal logging, while others supervise and protect the loggers. Illegal loggers are also often from South Sudanese companies with links to the military, such as the Aguet Trading Co, Santos Petroleum and Timber Company and Oscar Investment Company.
The South Sudan military’s involvement is linked to the civil wars that divided the army into two factions, says former defence minister Angelina Teny. She says the lack of salaries may have forced many military personnel to venture into the illegal logging trade to earn a living.
The armed groups also facilitate teak smuggling from Gbare in Kajo Keji County through the Moijo stream into Uganda’s Moyo District. Environmental activists have accused South Sudan’s military personnel of colluding with corrupt administrative and border officials to transport the wood into Uganda.
Beyond military personnel involvement, Ugandan administrative officials write authorisation letters to facilitate the harvested teak’s safe passage from South Sudan into Uganda. There, falsified certificates of origin prepared by Ugandan officials are used to facilitate the movement of the timber, disguised as Ugandan products, to Kenya’s Mombasa Port.
Kenyan investigative journalist John-Allan Namu told ENACT that once in Uganda, South Sudanese teak was mixed with teak from the DRC, and declared as Ugandan products, thus allowing its illicit export through Kenya to overseas markets.
South Sudanese teak shipments are transported from the Port of Mombasa to India, the destination for an estimated 73% of illegally exported South Sudanese teak, according to The Elephant.
The smugglers bypass the European Union’s (EU) Timber Regulation (2013), which bans the illegally logged or smuggled timber into the EU, by smuggling South Sudanese teak through India and obtaining false certificates of origin from corrupt Indian Chamber of Commerce officers.
Evidence of online sales of this timber on Facebook and other platforms highlights regulatory shortcomings in South Sudan, and in countries receiving the timber. Companies selling teak in this way are often unregistered and operate unnoticed, with loggers venturing deep into South Sudan’s forests without proper authorisation or legal documentation.
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 would be able to trace illegal shipments back to their origin, even if the timber is processed or disguised.
Investing in portable DNA sequencing devices would help customs officials identify the timber at the source and destination countries. DNA databases can also be developed and used in collaboration with international timber traders and regulatory bodies.
These databases can be used in conjunction with an electronic wood tracking system similar to that implemented in Ghana. This includes a timber legality assurance system that relies on comprehensive data collection at all critical points in the supply chain. This approach has enabled real-time reconciliation and identification of anomalies in wood flows.
Similar institutional databases in Central and West Africa, such as AFRICA-TWIX and the Central Africa Forest Observatory, along with platforms like the Open Timber Portal managed by the World Resources Institute, play a pivotal role in enhancing forest governance and monitoring natural resources. These databases ensure the traceability of timber, promote information exchange and foster sub-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 become aware that their activities can be tracked and traced.
This technology will only be as valuable as the operational support from law enforcement and customs officials along the teak trading value chain. South Sudan faces myriad security challenges and remains institutionally weak. Both Ugandan and Kenyan borders are known to be porous, and there are reports of corruption amongst officials.
A wide set of stakeholders – particularly civil society and the media – are well placed to raise these issues nationally and regionally. Information on incidents and the impacts of the illegal teak trade from South Sudan on the environment and society, through Uganda and Kenya, and on to India is essential. Placing pressure on governments, businesses and consumers to disrupt this trade is a key part of such advocacy work.
International organisations such as the IUCN and World Customs Organization need to recognise that institutional vulnerabilities – particularly in South Sudan – require a more proactive collaboration with the South Sudanese and even regionally.
Josephine Muthama, Intern EAPSG, and Willis Okumu, Senior Researcher, ENACT Nairobi
Image: InfoNile
