There's a fascinating story in yesterday's Washington Post detailing massive destruction of forests worldwide. The culprit? China. But behind China, the real culprits?
More beyond the fold.
The Washington Post story, Corruption Stains Timber Trade, is a classic example of what the mainstream media can do when they get it right. During the course of what they say was a year-long investigation, the reporters (clearly at some personal risk) interviewed workers doing the illegal logging along with government and military officials taking the bribes. They also interviewed the corporate executives who are paying the bills.
The conclusion?
Some of the largest swaths of natural forest left on the planet are being dismantled at an alarming pace to feed a global wood-processing industry centered in coastal China.
But the problem isn't just those greedy Chinese. The problem is us. All of that timber is being made into furniture and flooring, and guess who is buying it?
These wares are shipped from China to major retailers such as Ikea, Home Depot, Lowe's and many others. They land in homes and offices in the United States and Europe, bought by shoppers with little inkling of the wood's origins or the environmental costs of chopping it down.
"Western consumers are leaving a violent ecological footprint in Burma and other countries," said an American environmental activist who frequently travels to Burma and goes by the pen name Zao Noam to preserve access to the authoritarian country. "Predominantly, the Burmese timber winds up as patio furniture for Americans. Without their demand, there wouldn't be a timber trade."
The consequences of the illegal logging and consequent forest destruction are devastating:
These forests are a bulwark against global warming, capturing carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to heating the planet. They hold some of the richest flora and fauna anywhere, and they have supplied generations of people with livelihoods that are now threatened.
Some companies, such as Ikea, have environmental policies that look good in theory, but which rely on (frequently falsified) paperwork from suppliers and are only weakly enforced:
"It's about cost," said Ikea's global manager for social and environmental affairs, Thomas Bergmark. "It would take enormous resources if we trace back each and every wood supply chain. We can never guarantee that each and every log is from the right source."
Other companies have no environmental policies at all:
Armstrong does not require that Yingbin or its four other China suppliers meet the standards of a certification body such as the FSC. Armstrong buys Southeast Asian merbau for flooring that it sells as "exotic," listing only the country of final manufacture -- typically the United States -- but not the wood's source.
"I just don't think there's a need for it," said Frank J. Ready, chief executive of Armstrong Floor Products North America.
Read the article. It's very detailed, and beautifully written. Think about what can be done to pressure the Western companies that are driving the trade in illegal timber (groups such as Rainforest Relief are one place to start).
And, next time you need to buy furniture, ask some questions: Where is this wood really coming from? Is there an alternative? Could I buy this item used, or do without it? And, per the Ikea executive quoted above, what are the true costs of that low price which I'm demanding?