Greenpeace accuse UK govt of using banned timber

Greenpeace accuse UK govt of using banned timber

Reuters London

Activists of the environmental group Greenpeace abseiled off cranes on a British government construction site on Thursday, saying timber used there was logged illegally in Indonesia.

A government spokeswoman said an investigation would be carried out to check whether the wood being used on the London construction site was legal

The 11 Greenpeace activists began their protest at dawn on Wednesday, climbing the 40-foot (13-meter) cranes on a Home Office building site to call attention to the use of what they said was illegal Indonesian plywood. Work at the site was halted.

"Because of the allegations, the Home Office asked for a full investigation that the government may have inadvertently sponsored wood from unsustainable forests," a Home Office spokeswoman said.

She also said that all contractors are required to supply documentation that the wood they use is legal. The government has pledged not to purchase illegally logged timber.

Greenpeace said the British government should halt all plywood imports from Indonesia, one of the world's largest timber producers, since it was virtually impossible to certify that wood from the country had not been logged illegally.

The environmental group said it had evidence that two Indonesian companies supplying plywood to the site were selling illegally logged rainforest timber.