Call to stop illegal felling
AN environmental group has highlighted the illegal trade in hardwood flooring that has seen the export of over 300,000 cubic metres of logs from Indonesia.
An investigation by the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found that hardwood flooring destined for the US market was being manufactured from illegally felled trees.
EIA has documented how 300,000 cubic meters of stolen merbau logs were exported from the Papua province of Indonesia each month.
Most of these logs went to feed China's massive timber processing industry whose factories export merbau flooring to North American distributors.
Allan Thornton, EIA president, said: "The US and Canadian timber industry need to stop turning a blind eye to the massive illegal timber and wood imports flooding into North American markets.
"We need to fast track commitments made by the US and Canada at last month's G8 meeting to stop imports of illegal timber and to do that we need the timber industry to stop selling timber and wood products stolen from Asian rainforests."
An investigation by the non-profit Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) found that hardwood flooring destined for the US market was being manufactured from illegally felled trees.
EIA has documented how 300,000 cubic meters of stolen merbau logs were exported from the Papua province of Indonesia each month.
Most of these logs went to feed China's massive timber processing industry whose factories export merbau flooring to North American distributors.
Allan Thornton, EIA president, said: "The US and Canadian timber industry need to stop turning a blind eye to the massive illegal timber and wood imports flooding into North American markets.
"We need to fast track commitments made by the US and Canada at last month's G8 meeting to stop imports of illegal timber and to do that we need the timber industry to stop selling timber and wood products stolen from Asian rainforests."
posted by Craig McGinty at 18.4.05
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