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Investigation: High-Level Corruption in Zambia Fuels Illegal Timber Trade with China

by Eric Olander

The Environmental Investigation Agency published a damning report last week that alleged Zambian President Edgar Lungu, his daughter and several high-ranking ministers are all allegedly involved in the illicit trade of rare mukula wood. Mukula is a rare African tree and one of the rosewood species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

According to the EIA report, most of the illegal mukula wood is sold to China.

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