Toner News Mobile › Forums › Latest Industry News › *NEWS*SLICE OF PARADISE ARRIVES IN JAPAN
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AnonymousInactiveSlice of paradise arrives in Japan
Campaigners Hapsoro and Yuka Ozaki bear witness as
the MV Ardhianto unloads its cargo of plywood from the Paradise
Forests. The company involved in this protest, Kayu Lapis Indonesia’s
(KLI), is being investigated by the Indonesian government for sourcing
illegally logged timber and for breaking forestry regulations.Tokyo, Japan
— First we intercepted the MV Ardhianto when it was loading a thousand
cubic metres of destructively logged plywood in Sorong harbour, Papua.
Today, as the ship prepared to unload a slice of the Paradise Forests
in Yokohama harbour, Japan, our activists were there to again demand a
ban on the trade in illegal timber.The activists unfurled a
banner, which read “Is This Timber Legal?” Of course, it’s a rhetorical
question. Ironically, Japan is one of the countries that has vowed to
tackle illegal logging, via platforms such as the G8 summit.Papua
is home to one of the largest pristine forest areas left in the Asia
Pacific region. Timber companies are destructively logging this amazing
ecosystem so fast that it will disappear in 20 years – or less.The
company involved in this protest, Kayu Lapis Indonesia’s (KLI), is
being investigated by the Indonesian government for sourcing illegally
logged timber and for breaking forestry regulations.KLI’s
Henrison Iriana mill in Sorong, where this timber shipment came from,
is known to source timber from dubious and potentially illegal sources.
Not just some of its timber is suspect, either. Greenpeace has
discovered that these questionable sources supplied 53% of the mill’s
timber in 2002, 74% in 2003 and 70% in 2004Forest campaigner,
Yuka Ozaki, says allowing timber from a company currently under
investigation to unload products in Japan is totally unacceptable. “By
allowing such shipments into the country, Japan is buying ancient
forest destruction.”Japan is the world’s largest importer of
Indonesian plywood. Much of this plywood is used in construction and
is thrown away once it is used.Major buyers of KLI in Japan
are Sojitz group, Toyo Materia co. and Sumisyo & Mitsuibussan
Kenzai Co. Greenpeace is calling on these companies to only purchase
timber and timber products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC).Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner, Hapsoro, followed
the MV Ardhianto from Sarong to Yokohama. He says companies like KLI
are “unscrupulously selling out Indonesia’s natural heritage”.“Great
forests and their biodiversity are being destroyed as are the local
communities they support, in order to satisfy the global appetite for
cheap throwaway wood.” -
AuthorMay 11, 2006 at 11:24 AM
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