The new ODI book Legal Timber investigates a topical issue in international forest policy: how to verify the legality of traded timber in ways that will satisfy both the commercial interests of producer states and the social and environmental concerns of civil society and consumers.

This seemingly straightforward and technical matter proves, on investigation, to be complex and political.  It addresses a critical interface in international relation where the sovereign rights of producer states are set against the role of forests as important public goods.  It relates to a topic – illegal logging – that has been as the forefront of a movement in which private actors are playing an increasingly important role in forest sector reform.  This meeting will give the authors their first opportunity in the UK to discuss their analysis.