Image courtesy of REUTERS/Helveta/Handout

We may not think of comparing the tree lifters stealing timber supplies from tropical rainforests to shoplifters in Target or Walmart, but why not?  Local retailers protect themselves from theft by electronically tagging merchandise with bar codes so how about applying that same method to prevent theft in the rainforests?  The British tech company heading the effort feels that forests can benefit from the same theft prevention methods used by retailers across the globe.  So far, a million plastic bar codes have been hammered onto trees in Africa, southeast Asia and South America to help keep track of timber reserves.

The bar codes help firms comply with the stringent laws on importing sustainable timber into the United States and Europe, but they could also fight deforestation, which amounts to approximately one fifth of global emissions of carbon dioxide. The electronic system is less prone to fraud than paper records, and can also help governments collect more timber taxes.

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