Country Risk Profiles

Timber

Save your supply chain for quick access to risk data in the future. You will also receive notifications about changes in the risk profile of countries in your supply chain. You will need to create a supply chain for each country of origin that you source from.

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22

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Full Timber Legally Risk Assessment EN

About Central African Republic

Timber Risk Score: 22 / 100 in 2017. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in Central African Republic for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found: Specified risk for 18 sub-categories. Low risk for 1 sub-categories. No legal requirements for 2 sub-categories.This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in the Central African Republic (CAR). Forests cover 22.2 million hectares of CAR, or about 3 6% of the country, of which: Primary forest is about about 2 million ha Non-primary forest is about 20 million ha Plantations are a tiny proportion - they cover 2,000 ha. The CAR government is the main custodian and owner of all national forests. Forests are divided into: Permanent Forest Estates (PFE) Non-Permanent Forest Estates (NPFE). NPFE are unclassified forests and may be destined for uses other than forestry. NPFEs have not been allocated to different uses yet. The forest sector is very important to the country, contributing around 4% of GDP and 40% of the country's export earnings. Timber is mainly exported to Europe, China and North America and within Africa to Cameroon and Chad. CAR has major governance problems preventing it from effectively implementing its laws and eliminating illegal actions. These include lack of harmonisation and inconsistencies within and between relevant legal texts, the persisting conflict between the statutory and customary tenure regimes, lack of capacity, and political instability. Several legality risks are present in CAR timber supply chains. The risks are wide-ranging and appear across all categories of law. If you are sourcing timber from CAR you should take care to ensure the extensive risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated.VIEW MORE

Specified risk for 18 sub-categories.
Low risk for 1 sub-categories.
No legal requirements for 2 sub-categories.

This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Forests cover 22.2 million hectares of CAR, or about 3 6% of the country, of which:

Primary forest is about about 2 million ha
Non-primary forest is about 20 million ha
Plantations are a tiny proportion - they cover 2,000 ha.

The CAR government is the main custodian and owner of all national forests. Forests are divided into:

Permanent Forest Estates (PFE)
Non-Permanent Forest Estates (NPFE). NPFE are unclassified forests and may be destined for uses other than forestry. NPFEs have not been allocated to different uses yet.

The forest sector is very important to the country, contributing around 4% of GDP and 40% of the country's export earnings. Timber is mainly exported to Europe, China and North America and within Africa to Cameroon and Chad.

CAR has major governance problems preventing it from effectively implementing its laws and eliminating illegal actions. These include lack of harmonisation and inconsistencies within and between relevant legal texts, the persisting conflict between the statutory and customary tenure regimes, lack of capacity, and political instability.

Several legality risks are present in CAR timber supply chains. The risks are wide-ranging and appear across all categories of law. If you are sourcing timber from CAR you should take care to ensure the extensive risks identified are not present in your supply chains, or have been sufficiently mitigated. VIEW LESS

Description of source types

Source types describe the possible origins of a commodity from within a country. Knowing the “source type” that timber originates from is useful because different source types can be subject to different applicable legislation and have attributes that affect the risk of non-compliance with the legislation.

CPI score

24, updated 2024

Armed Conflicts

"Violence in eastern and western Central African Republic (CAR) has increased and spread to new provinces in 2018, as the government in Bangui remains unable to extend control outside the capital", cited from Global Conflict Tracker (2019). According to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program there were 11320 deaths from 2010-2019.

Voluntary Partnership Agreement

No Data

Certifications

FSC certified area: 0 ha, updated April 1, 2023

Bans & Restrictions

Blank

Risk Species

Name	CITES I	CITES II	CITES III	IUCN Redlist	Special attention
No records found

Central African Republic

Tree cover loss

Tree cover loss”. Accessed on 01/01/2023 from www.globalforestwatch.org. The graph shows year-by-year tree cover loss, defined as stand level replacement of vegetation greater than 5 meters in the country. Note that “tree cover loss” is not the same as “deforestation” – tree cover loss includes change in both natural and planted forest, and does not need to be human caused. The data from 2011 onward were produced with an updated methodology that may capture additional loss. Comparisons between the original 2001-2010 data and future years should be performed with caution.

Overview of mitigation options organised by source type

Source Type

Number of risks

Document verification

Stakeholder Consultation

Field Verification

Scientific Testing

No records found