Illegal logging: the international political context

The paper covers international aspects of illegal forest use and related trade of timber and its products. Tobuildup domestic forest and paper products positions at world markets there should be a consistent and confidentfor market stakeholders assessment procedure of forest products and legal activities compatibility. The paper high-lights findings of world timber trade trend analysis, review offorest use regulation in timber producing and export-ing states, comparison of illegal logging concept and evidence classification in various states. International focus on forest problems shifted from sustainability performance control to law enforcement modein forest sector. It is stressed that legitimacy is a new powerful concept in forest management. A new trend of rangeof states involved in forest sector legitimacy arrangement and development extension is stressed. Global legitima-cy impacts mainly depend on political responses to new trade and global production regulation tools in Russia,China and Brazil. In foreign literature there is a distinct trend world division based on forest logging legality intoglobal «north-south» developed importing countries with «sensitive» markets and timber and its product export-ing countries usually located in south polar regions. It is pointed out that illegal logging data in «north» countries in special literature practically is not available.Feasible legitimacy unfourable impacts are forest product output growth at small uncontrolled facilities; rise of gov-ernment motivations to release law burden regulating forest use; disturbance of established supply chains. 3 tim-ber legality acts in the USA, EU and Australia don't accept FSC and PEFS certificates as a proof of timber legal back-ground. Trade data statistics shows no changes as a result of the adopted Euro-regulation over the last 3 years.