Greenpeace volunteers this morning entered Travis Perkins timber merchants in Dalston, East London and tried to cordon off areas of the store containing illegal and destructively logged timber from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.
The store is one of 24 Travis Perkins timber merchants in 15 regions around the country (including Hampstead, Paddington, Vauxhall, Battersea and Palmers Green in London) being visited by Greenpeace volunteers today.
Volunteers wearing 'Forest Crime Unit' tabards will cordon off areas where Indonesian plywood and doors are on sale with 'Forest Crime Scene' tape. They will then deliver a copy of the Greenpeace report 'Partners in Crime - an investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia's timber barons' to the store manager and hand out leaflets to staff and customers.
Indonesia is suffering the highest rate of forest destruction in the world, which is driven by demand for cheap timber and paper products. Many of Indonesia's unique species depend upon these forests for their survival and the country now has more species threatened with extinction than anywhere else on earth, including the orang-utan. The World Bank recently described Indonesia as facing 'a species extinction of planetary proportions' and estimated that if the current rate of forest destruction continues, most of Indonesia's rainforests will be logged out by 2010.
The UK is the sixth largest importer of Indonesian plywood in the world. Shiploads of plywood from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests arrive in the UK each month.
The Partners in Crime report cites Travis Perkins and Jewson timber merchants as two of the largest traders in the UK dealing in illegal Indonesian timber. Earlier this year, Greenpeace investigators discovered Indonesian timber, bought from companies involved in illegal logging, being sold as cheap plywood and doors in Travis Perkins and Jewson stores across the UK. Since the report was released Jewson have confirmed that they will stop selling Indonesian plywood products.
John Sauven, Greenpeace forest campaigner said, "Using ancient rainforest timber for plywood is like smashing up Stonehenge to make paving stones. It's outrageous that Travis Perkins are continuing to buy timber they know comes from companies engaged in illegal logging and human rights abuses. They should follow the lead taken by Jewson and stop selling Indonesian rainforest plywood".
Greenpeace is demanding that Travis Perkins stop their involvement with Indonesian rainforest timber until it can be certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards - which guarantees it comes from environmentally and socially responsible forestry. We are asking consumers to stop fuelling rainforest destruction by avoiding Indonesian wood products and instead buying only FSC accredited wood.
EDITIOR'S NOTES:
For a full copy of the Indonesian forest report 'Partners in Crime' with full references, or for a copy of the edited media briefing visit www.saveordelete.com
For information on how to make sure the timber you buy comes from sustainable sources see http://www.fsc-uk.org/
