Panama, Jan. 20 — The Government of Panama and various social organizations announced Friday the creation of the Legal Timber Network to strengthen measures to prevent illegal logging and timber smuggling.

“Seventeen months ago, the Ministry of Environment initiated a national dialogue on timber, whose commitment included the agreements we signed today, and demonstrates that the National Government and key players in the forestry sector can work together to have a legal, safe and sustainable market,” Environment Minister, Mirei Endara, said in a statement.

Among the organizations signing the agreement, which will be ratified by indigenous communities and timber producers and buyers, is the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO).

According to Panama’s Ministry of Environment, 96 percent of the timber taken from the southern jungle province of Darién, a natural border between Panama and Colombia, is illegally logged and marketed primarily to the United States, Europe and Asia.

The Darién National Park, where species of highly-valued trees such as balm, mahogany and cocobolo grow, comprises more than 25 percent of the Panama’s forest ecosystems.

The protected area is also the largest national park in Central America, and one of the most important world heritage sites in Central America with an area of 579,000 hectares.

Panama loses about 20,000 hectares each year to deforestation, according to the National Association for the Conservation of Nature (ANCON), a Panamanian non-profit.  – EFE