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China calls for sustainable logging by Chinese firms overseas mongabay.com July 11, 2007
The guidelines call for a ban on illegal logging and clearing of natural forests for plantations. The manual, which was announced last year, has been distributed to China's 31 provinces, its forestry department, and various industry groups, and will soon go out to officials in 333 cities and 2,862 counties, according to a statement posted on the Forestry Ministry Web site. "[The manual] positively guides and standardizes Chinese companies' sustainable forestry activities overseas, promotes the sustainable development of forestry in those countries (and) protects the international image of our government being responsible," Deputy Forestry Minister Li Yucai said in a statement, as reported by Reuters. Related articles Home improvement giant bans illegal wood products. B&Q, the third largest retailer of home improvement materials, announced that within three years, all Brazilian wood products sold in China would come from certified sources. B&Q has 60 stores in China. China to push for sustainable logging overseas. In a surprising move, China has developed guidelines for the establishment of sustainable forest plantations abroad by Chinese firms, according to the International Tropical Timber Organization's (ITTO) April 1 Tropical Timber Market Report. The move comes as China faces increasing criticism from environmental groups for pillaging the world's forests to feed its rapidly growing economy. China's demand for hardwood drives illegal logging says Greenpeace. Environmental group Greenpeace said on Tuesday China should take responsibility for illegal hardwood logging in Southeast Asia which supplied the raw materials for Chinese exports to the West. China needs 5 million cubic meters more of tropical timber by 2010. China needs 5 million cubic meters more of tropical timber by 2010 according to the September 15-30 ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report, a publication published by the International Tropical Timber Organization. China is already the world's largest consumer of tropical wood, importing more than twice the volume of tropical logs as India, the second largest importer on the list. Timber hungry China moves into Africa. With its projected growth rates, China will soon surpass the United States in wood consumption. This voracious appetite for timber is threatening tropical forests around the globe but nowhere is this more apparent than in Africa where China is increasingly focusing its development efforts and adding fuel to a booming trade in illegally harvested timber. Comments? News options
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