11 May 2006 - 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
2004
Forest 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.”
