UK remains major player in illegal timber trade despite fact that sustainable and cost effective alternatives already exist
8 August, 2008
A new report from the environmental group Greenpeace
shows how the UK construction industry can have a
positive influence on the management practices in forests around the world. The
report, entitled "Setting a new standard: alternatives to unsustainable plywood
in the UK construction industry" is a
practical guide for companies wanting to avoiding the use of illegal plywood on
construction sites.
The demand for timber from the international marketplace, including the UK, is a key driver in this destruction. This timber can be used for high value products like flooring or end up as ‘throwaway' products like plywood. In recent years, Greenpeace has repeatedly exposed the use of illegal and unsustainable plywood from the threatened rainforests of the Brazilian Amazon, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea being used as hoardings around UK construction sites.
This guide sets out why companies must respond to this issue as a matter of urgency.
It shows how to avoid unsustainable plywood and also provides a step-by-step guide to obtaining socially and environmentally responsible timber, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Buying FSC certified timber is the best way to ensure your timber comes from responsible sources.
Posted by jamie — 31 July 2008 at 3:53pm
-
Comments
The bad news is that the vote on illegal timber amongst members of the European Commission has been delayed (they're looking at legislation to ban dodgy wood from Europe) and now probably won't take place until September. The good news is that it gives us all a chance to have some fun in the meantime (and do some creative campaigning at the same time).
We all love forests and we want you to show the powers that be in the EU just how much. The forests have already made their own effort, but here's what we'd like you to do:
Posted by jamie — 23 June 2008 at 10:19am
-
Comments
Just one of the many actions we've taken to expose the government's shoddy approach to illegal timber
Over the past few years, we've done plenty of
work to highlight the problem of illegally
logged timber being imported and sold in the UK - remember the government's repeated
foul-ups in this area? It's insane, but we still don't have any laws
preventing illegal timber from places like the Amazon and south-east Asia
reaching our shores, nor does any other country in Europe.
Posted by jamie — 15 April 2008 at 5:20pm
-
Comments
Following our action in France last
month - when the crew of the Arctic Sunrise blocked a shipment of timber from
the Brazilian Amazon - efforts have been stepped up in the country of origin to
prevent illegal timber being exported in the first place.
The Brazilian government's environmental agency, Ibama, has seized a shipment of timber in the first check on exports by
authorities in two years. The cargo vessel in question - the BSLE Express - would
have been en route to Europe but has been detained in Santarem since March 27. So far, inspectors
have confiscated 732m3 of wood which were travelling with false papers; papers
that were economical with the truth when it came to the species of timber present
in the shipment.
Posted by jamie — 2 April 2008 at 10:19am
-
Comments
The undercover experts down the road at the Environmental Investigation Agency have released this short video exposing the trade in illegal timber from the forests of Laos. Shady deals and corruption allow large amounts of dodgy lumber to be processed in Vietnam and Thailand, where it's made into products like garden furniture for export to (among other places) the UK. Yet another reason why we need laws in Europe to ban the import of illegal timber.
