Greenpeace targets Malaysia in timber protest
Greenpeace targets Malaysia in timber protest
Agencies, Bangkok
Activists handcuffed themselves to the gates of the Malaysian
embassy in Bangkok on Wednesday, demanding tighter controls on
trade in a valuable tropical timber used in furniture, window
blinds and pool cues.
About a dozen Greenpeace protesters, four of them wearing
orange jump suits and chained to the gate, called on Malaysia to
back Indonesia's proposal at a wildlife conference in Bangkok to
limit trade in wood from the Ramin tree.
"In order to protect this species and the forests it comes
from, we must act now. We cannot wait one minute longer," said
Alex Ryan, a campaigner for the environmental group.
Ramin is a hardwood tree found in the lowland forests of
Malaysia and Indonesia.
Greenpeace said rampant illegal logging and smuggling of the
timber through Malaysia was rapidly destroying the forests and
the animals that live in them.
"The forests in Sumatra where Ramin is found are pegged to be
completely devastated by the year 2005," Ryan said.
"It's also the habitat for endangered orang-utan. It's also
where you can find the endangered Sumatran tiger".
Indonesia is expected to put forward a proposal to protect the
Ramin tree on Thursday at the two-week meeting of the Convention
on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in
Bangkok which ends on Oct. 14.
If the plan is approved by the 166 member governments of
CITES, Ramin would be listed in the Appendix 2 category which
would strictly control trade of the species.
The Malaysian government has indicated it would support
Indonesia's proposal if trade restrictions are not applied to
already-made Ramin products and if they are not enforced for
another year.
Greenpeace opposes Malaysia's amendments, arguing they would
render the proposal useless.
In a related development, Greenpeace said on Wednesday that
Singapore remains a major hub for the global trade in illegal
timber. It called on the city-state to set up a dedicated law
enforcement unit to crack down on the problem.
The international environment group brought its flagship
Rainbow Warrior vessel to Singapore to highlight what it said was
new evidence of criminal smuggling of endangered hardwood from
Indonesia into Singapore and Malaysia.
"It is quite evident that if countries in the region do not
act now to stop the destruction of rain forests and illegal
trade, we will soon have nothing to protect," Greenpeace forest
campaigner Tim Birch said.
"Countries like Singapore and Malaysia hold the future of not
only timber species, but of all plants, animals and communities
that live in and depend on forests, in their hands."
Greenpeace released documents to reporters showing photos of
boats laden with endangered ramin timber from the forests of Riau
province in Sumatra, Indonesia, that were bound for Singapore and
Malaysia.