The U.S. House of Representatives passed landmark legislation to address the global illegal logging crisis. The law would make the United States the first country in the world to prohibit the import, sale, or trade in illegally-harvested wood and wood products.
The law made changes in the wildlife trafficking regulations, the Lacey Act, to include timber, wood products and other plants. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), the leading environmental organization providing expertise to policy makers on illegal logging and associated international trade, estimates that 10% of annual wood product imports into the U.S. - worth some $3.8 billion dollars - are derived from illegally logged timber.
EIA claims that Vietnam is a hub for processing Asia’s illegal wood logs, much of which is imported to the United States as furniture. Vietnam exported 2.4 billion USD worth of wooden products last year. The agencies estimate that 500,000 cubic meters of logs move illegally from Laos to Vietnam every year. Large volumes of timber from Laos also go to China’s burgeoning wood-processing industry, researchers say. The ‘Vietnam Wood and Forestry Association’ have sent a document to EIA denying the report findings and have requested the author make corrections and publish an apology.
China is considering various measures to reduce logging of their own forests, while import’s wood from neighboring countries for growing wood-processing industries in China.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), China’s demand for imported industrial wood — timber, paper and pulp — will grow by at least 33 percent within the next five years, from the current 94 million cubic meters to 125 million cubic meters.
I believe that going forward ,international pressure will force Asian countries to be ethical in restricting illegal usage of natural resources, at least to the extent of exports to International markets. Growing awareness will encourage more certified wood usage, but limited wood supply will affect wood and wood product prices. Even the EU would extend its environmental support soon just as the US did. Imports of illegal wood products from regions like china and Vietnam will affect these regions as the percentage of illegal wood consumption is very high. China is already surrounded by several issues with respect to environment, labor, subsidies etc., these will affect china going forward as it is the leading manufacturer of paper and furniture products. A rise in timber prices has prompted some wood-producing countries, such as Indonesia, to clamp down on illegal logging.
The law made changes in the wildlife trafficking regulations, the Lacey Act, to include timber, wood products and other plants. The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), the leading environmental organization providing expertise to policy makers on illegal logging and associated international trade, estimates that 10% of annual wood product imports into the U.S. - worth some $3.8 billion dollars - are derived from illegally logged timber.
EIA claims that Vietnam is a hub for processing Asia’s illegal wood logs, much of which is imported to the United States as furniture. Vietnam exported 2.4 billion USD worth of wooden products last year. The agencies estimate that 500,000 cubic meters of logs move illegally from Laos to Vietnam every year. Large volumes of timber from Laos also go to China’s burgeoning wood-processing industry, researchers say. The ‘Vietnam Wood and Forestry Association’ have sent a document to EIA denying the report findings and have requested the author make corrections and publish an apology.
China is considering various measures to reduce logging of their own forests, while import’s wood from neighboring countries for growing wood-processing industries in China.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), China’s demand for imported industrial wood — timber, paper and pulp — will grow by at least 33 percent within the next five years, from the current 94 million cubic meters to 125 million cubic meters.
I believe that going forward ,international pressure will force Asian countries to be ethical in restricting illegal usage of natural resources, at least to the extent of exports to International markets. Growing awareness will encourage more certified wood usage, but limited wood supply will affect wood and wood product prices. Even the EU would extend its environmental support soon just as the US did. Imports of illegal wood products from regions like china and Vietnam will affect these regions as the percentage of illegal wood consumption is very high. China is already surrounded by several issues with respect to environment, labor, subsidies etc., these will affect china going forward as it is the leading manufacturer of paper and furniture products. A rise in timber prices has prompted some wood-producing countries, such as Indonesia, to clamp down on illegal logging.
