GreenSage E-zine 06/2008

The GreenSage Guide to Selecting Wood Wisely
by the GreenSage Team & Rainforest Relief

Lets face it, we love wood. We like to surround ourselves with it; use plenty of it. Like many natural materials, wood gives us a warm, comforting feeling. The look, the feel, the touch of a smooth finished wood surface instills the rich sense of luxurious comfort that comes with being in accord with the natural order of things. We have an innate relationship with it. After all, we're nature. Wood is nature. What could be more, well, natural?

But, there is no more pressing problem facing the world today than the destruction of forests, particularly of tropical forests. Half of the world’s forests have already been altered, degraded, destroyed or converted into other land uses. Each year (as last measured during the five year period of 2000 - 2005) the net forest loss across the globe is 7.3 million hectares — an area the size of Panama. Again, we repeat — each and every year. (A hectare is 10,000 sq. meters or 2.471 acres.)

At the current rate of destruction, all accessible rainforests except a few parks and preserves will be destroyed in 40 years.

The ten countries with the largest net forest loss per year (also reported for period of 2000 through 2005) are Brazil, Indonesia, Sudan, Myanmar, Zambia, United Republic of Tanzania, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Venezuela — just these top ten alone netting a forest loss of 8.2 million hectares per year.

There are many countries that have net forest gain as well. Without these, the losses would be even more severe. Those top ten are: China, Spain, Viet Nam, United States of America, Italy, Chile, Cuba, Bulgaria, France and Portugal, with a combined net forest gain of 5.1 million hectares per year due to afforestation and natural expansion of forests.

The activity particularly responsible for the losses? Logging for timber.

The vast majority of the wood is sought by illegal crews punching new roads into pristine forests to log high value woods for export. Once those roads are bulldozed, the chain of destruction begins as they open access to other extractors and farmers who complete the process of deforestation. 70% of tropical deforestation from shifting agriculture is precipitated by logging roads. World Resources Institute has shown that a logged tropical forest is 8 times more likely to be completely deforested than one remaining unlogged.

Logging for export is the greatest factor leading to illegal logging and new logging operations. High value species for export like mahogany (South American and African), ipê ("Brazilian walnut"), jatoba ("Brazilian cherry"), and virola in the Amazon, African mahogany, wenge, oklumé and padauk in Africa, ramin, apitong, keruing, kepmpas, kapur, nyatoh and balau in Malaysia and Indonesia, are targeted by legal and illegal loggers. For instance, 70% of mahogany cut in Brazil is exported and 90% of okoumé cut in Gabon is exported.

The US is the largest importer of tropical hardwoods, where mahogany is the most popular, and the largest single use is for furniture. The US is the world’s largest furniture producing country. Close behind are Italy and recently, China’s furniture industry has been growing rapidly. Even many US companies that have been traditionally manufacturing in the US are now sourcing from China. Imports from Malaysia and Indonesia are popular as well, with smaller amounts coming from Thailand and Brazil.

Since the Brazilian government has curtailed much of the export of bigleaf (South American) mahogany, Peru now supplies the majority of bigleaf mahogany and many companies have shifted much of their mahogany production to African mahogany. This is no better since logging in west Africa is driving the region's endangered wildlife to extinction as well as helping to wipe out the world’s second largest area of remaining primary rainforests.

In addition to furniture, this high-value lumber is also used in doors, coffins, boardwalks, decking, plywood, and flooring. Vast volumes are imported as inexpensive plywood (called lauan) from southeast Asian rainforests, used for paneling, cabinets and furniture interiors and backing, set construction, tractor trailers, subflooring and doorskins. Still more comes in as marine grade plywood made with okoumé and African mahogany, used in boat building and for the flooring of trucks and shipping containers. Rainforest wood is so ubiquitous that it's even found in bathroom plunger handles and pencils.

What to do
To spare the world’s rainforests, we must reduce the imports of tropical woods. According to Rainforest Relief, we need to reduce tropical wood imports by 90% with the remaining 10% coming only from non-old growth logging which has been independently certified as well managed. Particularly instrumental in this effort is the wood accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international nonprofit organization that sets standards for responsible forest management.

The European Union has taken a stand to do just that — reduce its use of uncertified tropical hardwoods, particularly in furniture. According to a recent report by James Kanter from the International Herald Tribune, the EU is seeking a green label for wood furniture.

In recent years, many importers and retailers have started using labels on hardwood furnishings to indicate whether forest companies that felled the timber had abided by sustainable principles. But the EU has no region-wide law preventing the import of illegally logged wood products.

Stavros Dimas, the EU environment commissioner, has proposed a regulation that would require importers and many retailers of wood products to show how the wood was obtained and where it is being sent next in the supply and production chain. The regulation would put the onus on EU governments to stop importers and retailers buying or selling wood from illegal sources.

To stay in compliance, companies would probably be able to rely on some existing methods, like certification by the FSC. To become law, the proposal would need the approval of EU governments and the European Parliament. But the effort already has important supporters, including Jean-Louis Borloo, the French environment minister, and environmentalists say stricter regulation is urgent because deforestation is responsible for about one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions — more than from the world's transportation sector.

Those who demand hardwoods have a responsibility to do more to help stop illegal logging if they are serious about tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. IKEA, which is the world's largest home furnishings retailer, supports the legislation because it would reward companies that use environmentally sound wood and IKEA is voluntarily seeking to make 30% of the wood material it uses comply with the equivalent of FSC standards by the end of 2009.

If you are shopping for your home, are a designer, architect or specifier of wood products, we urge you to download these Guidelines for Avoiding Unsustainable Rainforest Wood, complete with Examples of Woods from Endangered Tropical Rainforests, their names, country of origin, and uses and suggestions for alternatives.

You can help by avoiding wood products that originate from endangered forests and getting your community (your town, city, company or school) to do so as well.

You can also help by supporting Rainforest Relief campaigns to end the imports and use of rainforest wood. Rainforest Relief has been focused on reducing the imports of tropical woods into the US since 198 They have grown to become the leading US organization working to prevent the use of tropical hardwoods by US governments, corporations and individuals. To date, they have prevented the use of 11 million board feet of imminent or proposed dimensional tropical hardwoods as well as hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of plywood and tens of thousands of pieces of furniture made of rainforest wood. Help them continue this important work.