A new Greenpeace report, Merbau's Last Stand (1), launched today warns that the tropical hardwood species merbau (or kwila) will be extinct within 35 years or less if action is not taken to stop the destructive logging and trade of the species.
Greenpeace has uncovered evidence suggesting that:
- Several manufacturers are importing Merbau into the UK including Tarkett, Junkers and Boen.
- Merbau wood is on widespread sale in this country including at Floors-To-Go and Allied Carpets, significant flooring retailers in the UK.
- Merbau only exists in significant commercial quantities on the island of New Guinea. 83 per cent has already been logged or is allocated for logging, and only 17 per cent is not on the chopping block. (3)
Merbau, once common from eastern Africa throughout Asia and Oceania, is only found in significant quantities today on the island of New Guinea, in Papua (Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea (PNG). The World Conservation Union lists merbau as "facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future", and although Indonesia has stated that it intended to list merbau on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), that has never occurred.(2)
Belinda Fletcher, head of the forest campaign at Greenpeace UK said: "Merbau is a highly prized tree species used for products like flooring. Market demand is driving this species to extinction. It is outrageous that manufacturers are bringing it into the UK and retailers are selling it with no regard for where they are sourcing it from and despite the serious issues connected to this species."
She continued, "Consumers can make sure they are buying 'good' timber, by looking out for the Forest Stewardship Council logo, the best way to ensure the timber products they are buying come from environmentally and socially responsible sources."
Greenpeace are calling on the UK and EU governments to introduce legislation banning the import of illegal and destructively logged timber into the EU. The organization is also calling for merbau to be listed on Appendix III of the CITES.
Notes to editors:
(1) Merbau's Last Stand: How Industrial Logging is Driving the Destruction of the Paradise Forests of Asia Pacific. Greenpeace (2007). For copies of the report please call the Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255
(2) IUCN, Red List of Endangered Species, 2006. IUCN. www.iucnredlist.org.; Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, Twenty Second Meeting of the Animals Committee, 2006 3(b)(i) Review of Appendices. http://www.cites.org/eng/com/AC/22/E22-05-02.pdf
(3) http://www.greenpeace.org/merbaumaps
- Merbau is a highly prized tropical hardwood that costs more than US$600 per cubic metre roundwood and is used to manufacture high-end luxury wooden products. Global demand for merbau products has already wiped out most of the world's merbau forests. China is now the world's largest market for merbau and the largest consumer of tropical logs in the world.
- Read the report briefing and the full report at www.greenpeace.org.uk/media/reports/merbaus-last-stand
For more details please call the Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255
