BRITISH soldiers tackling illegal logging in the Balkans are claiming success following a training programme held in Mid Wales, involving BSW Timber.
The second Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, the Green Howards, is leading a six-month operation against illegal logging in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they prepared for the campaign by taking part in a three-day training exercise in Radnorshire. As part of the exercise, the Green Howards deployed search parties to potential illegal logging venues, including the BSW sawmill in Newbridge-on-Wye.
Soldiers say lessons learned in the foothills of Mid Wales are already paying dividends, with improved cross-border links now forged between the forestry management units and police forces in the country.
The soldiers regularly target illegal logging activities from the cutting sites to the sawmills, monitor transport routes and check documents, stamps and tags for irregularities.
The area of operations covered by the Green Howards covers roughly the size of Northern Ireland and is home to some of the best hardwood reserves in Europe.
Lieutenant Royal Navy spokesman Richard Wallace said: “The UK training package prior to deployment gave the soldiers and commanders a useful insight into forestry management issues, in particular the intricacies of illegal logging.
“Guidance was then provided on arrival in Bosnia Herzegovina by the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina forestry advisor, and by the Bosnia Herzegovina Forestry Commission.
 “Although evidence of illegal logging has been discovered, it is considered that the combined effort of forestry managers and EUFOR is having a deterrent effect upon such activity, which deprives Bosnia of its rightful income via tax revenues.”
As part of the Mid Wales training, around 50 soldiers mounted a dawn raid after BSW planted bogus paperwork on its employees and briefed drivers to be unco-operative and evasive when pulled into mock vehicle checkpoints.
An RAF Puma helicopter also launched low range reconnaissance of the mill’s plant operations, and soldiers checked for arms and stowaways on BSW haulage vehicles.
Andrew Smith, purchasing director at BSW Timber, says: “The army training exercise has given us added insight into the huge problems that illegal forestry causes across the globe.
“As well as a huge cost to the environment, it also has a detrimental effect on local economies and society, as the money earned from illegal logging supports a myriad of regional crime networks.
“The majority of UK companies, including ourselves, support recognised timber accreditation schemes such as the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC), which shows that the timber is sourced from sustainable, managed and approved suppliers. Yet when we are operating across a global economy, the main players in the industry have to do more to ensure that illegal logging does not have a marketplace.
 “We need to have a much closer working relationship with the local authorities and military to make sure this happens.”
Timber is Bosnia’s largest natural resource, yet more than 80 per cent of logging is illegal - starting a chain of events that sees the majority of income from forestry disappear into the black market and organised crime.
Investigators believe that the Bosnian economy loses around ?57 million every year through tax evasion and corruption in the industry. In 2004, there were more than 4,000 prosecutions for illegal logging in the country.