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China denies destroying rainforests for timber mongabay.com August 16, 2006 China disputed charges that it is plundering the world's biodiverse rainforests to meet booming demand for timber, according to the state-run China Daily. The statement concerning the question that China's large demand for timber assists illegal logging and smuggling from Asia is groundless," the China Daily quoted State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao as saying at a news conference Wednesday. "China consistently upholds and puts into practice collective international responsibility, opposing and cracking down on illegal logging and illegal wood imports," Cao said. "We have very strict import controls." Cao's statement comes despite evidence to the contrary. Several environmental groups -- including the Environmental Investigation Agency and Global Witness -- have conducted extensive investigations into the origin of timber imported into China and found illegally harvested wood from Burma, New Guinea, and Indonesia entering Chinese ports. Cao said that China aims to become self-reliant for timber. RELATED ARTICLES New green building material could cut wood demand in China, India Australian researchers have developed a strong, lightweight building material that they believe could serve as the base for "green construction" in countries like as China and India. Japan depletes Borneo's rainforests; China remains largest log importer Almost three quarters of Japan's tropical timber imports come from the endangered rainforests of Borneo according to figures from the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). Meanwhile, ITTO says that China remains, by a large margin, the largest consumer of tropical logs Illegal Logging Link between Indonesia and China Environmentalists today revealed how hardwood flooring sold across the U.S. is linked to the world's largest illegal timber smuggling operation. Following two years of undercover investigations, The Environmental Investigation Agency, a non-profit group, has exposed how a leading distributor of hardwood flooring, Goodfellow Inc., is selling flooring made from logs illegally felled in Papua province of Indonesia. Hardwood flooring linked to illegal timber smuggling ring, says group Jakarta; Rampant smuggling of illegal timber from Indonesia to China is a billion dollar trade threatening the last remaining intact tropical forests in the Asia-Pacific region, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak revealed at a press conference today in Jakarta. China fuels illegal logging in Burma A new report, launched today by Global Witness at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Bangkok , "A Choice for China — Ending the destruction of Burma's northern frontier forests" , details shocking new evidence of the massive illicit plunder of Burma's forests by Chinese logging companies. Much of the logging takes place in forests that form part of an area said to be "very possibly the most bio-diverse, rich, temperate area on earth." Timber hungry China moves into Africa China, as the fastest growing economy in the world, is poised to make significant impacts on the global market and the global environment, especially with its expanding involvement with nations rich in natural resources but deficient in economic and political stability. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Africa where China has rapidly bolstered its ties in recent years with the majority of the continent's 54 nations. Recommend this article? Comments? Digg this article | Hugg this article | Contact News options News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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