 forests. They cover 30% of the Earth's land surface. 80% of land animals and plants call the forests their home. They are our planet's lungs and control the levels of CO2 in the air that we breathe. The forests are under attack. Illegal and unsustainable logging is responsible for most of the degradation of the world's forests, destroying habitats, endangering species and contributing to global warming. Interpol supports global law enforcement to disrupt international criminal networks and protect the world's forests before it's too late. Environmental crime is a growing global issue that is affecting not just our natural resources, but our economy, our society and our security as well. Interpol is addressing this serious threat to our planet through the Environmental Security Program. One of the ways Interpol supports its member countries is through criminal intelligence officers who can share their experience and assist local law enforcement when evidence of a crime is discovered. We're here in Thailand and our mission is to travel with our colleagues from the Royal Thai Police. We're going to visit an area which has been deforested so they've had Rosewood which has been illegally logged from the National Park up there. For myself as someone who's worked in law enforcement, if I can use my law enforcement skills to help protect the environment and ensure it's here for future generations, then that is my mission. I'm not only these big trees essential for our carbon cycle, soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but they're actually very, very essential in reducing erosion, especially on these mountainous terrains that they have here in Thailand. We've just arrived at the location here where the illegal logging is going. We've got an absolutely massive, massive species of tree which has been half cut into pieces. Rosewood is a very high value timber, a very profitable business for transnational organized crime so we see a lot of Rosewood trafficking here in the region. We have seen through the many operations we've conducted and investigations over the years that there is a strong connection between drug trafficking, firearms trafficking and environmental crime. It's the same people motivated by money. The one main difference here is they're exploiting our natural resources to make money. The Interpol Environmental Security Program assists member countries by identifying criminal activities throughout the entire illegal timber supply chain. This means establishing the routes used by criminals to transport illegally cut timber. In Romania, Interpol assists local authorities to intercept illegal shipments before they can cross international borders. One of the most challenging aspects for the authorities is distinguishing legally cut timber from illegally cut timber. When illegal timber does make it across international borders, that can mean big profits for the organized crime groups. With profits in the illegal timber trade estimated at 152 billion dollars per year, this is attracting some of the biggest organized crime groups in the world today. Forestry crime and financial crime are very much connected. As it is a key driver for financial crimes such as money laundering, tax evasion and fraud, these criminals are exploiting our natural resources to make huge amounts of money. If we focus on the financial crime elements of these predicate crimes, we can help seize and take away from these criminals some of the huge profits that they make. Organized crime groups operate internationally, shipping illegally sourced wood through some of the world's busiest ports where they often try to disguise their illegal cargo. The cartels, the deal in illegal trade, they pretend to be exporting coffee or tea and yet they conceal the goods inside those containers. That's why we have to be very, very keen on scanning the export goods. This is another interception of crosswood timber. This is one of the most valuable indigenous tree to the market world is like gold. The methods criminals use to avoid detection are constantly evolving, so it's crucial for law enforcement to stay one step ahead. This is how the smugglers keep records, the numbers of the items inside the container. They have got their own language of knowing how many crosswood timbers are inside the container by encrypting on the door so that the recipients will be able to know the total number based on the records written on the door. Only through sharing the information of these criminal techniques with other law enforcement agencies can the international illegal timber trade be disrupted. Here at Interpol is part of our mandate. We're charged with collecting and analyzing information related to illicit markets from our nearly 200 member countries. We use this information to produce intelligence products and drive global law enforcement operations. At the heart of these operations are the Interpol National Central Bureau's or NCB's which co-operate on cross-border investigations, operations and arrests, sharing intelligence globally. Intelligence-led policing often uncovers overlapping crime areas. In Peru, vast areas of the Amazon rainforest are being destroyed to make way for another devastating environmental crime, illegal mining. In all of the jungle, there are gold and illegal miners in order to extract the material from the orifice. In this area, there are illegal mining concessions, but there are also illegal miners who enter these concessions and destroy the forest. It's a shame that people who are irresponsible with the benefit fund don't care about the conservation of the environment, the flora and the fauna that are completely devastated. The Amazon is considered a lung that feeds oxygen to our planet. If we're going to consume the trees little by little, we're going to have less oxygen, we're going to have less air to breathe, and not only will Peru be harmed, but worldwide, the whole population. At the moment, we're going to go with a committee, along with the police of the environment of Mother of God, to cover up the forest in the protected area, where there is the crime of illegal mining, burying and stealing all kinds of normative and national legislation. When we are in the place, we are going to observe very closely the sanded area, the dry area, the product of illegal mining and illegal mining. It affects all Peruvians at the national level and affects the world. It affects us, it causes us pain. Interpol constantly coordinates us with the authorities in order to investigate all that criminal organization that practices this illegal mining. In this way, we fight against this organized crime that is spreading more and more. The fight against global and legal deforestation is an uphill battle. Criminals are constantly evolving their methods to trick, corrupt and manipulate the legitimate timber trade, but law enforcement is fighting back. By sharing information worldwide, Interpol contributes up-to-date intelligence to help international police work together and crack down on forestry crime, hold those responsible to account and protect one of our planet's most precious resources.