Illegal Indonesian ramin logs seized in Malaysia
Illegal Indonesian ramin logs seized in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): Malaysian authorities, acting on a tip-off
from a London-based green group, have seized an illegal shipment
of Indonesian ramin logs, which are banned from export to protect
the habitat of orang-utans, a news report said Tuesday.
The valuable logs, which can fetch up to US$1,000 per cubic
metre in Western markets, were seized in Malacca state last week
by forestry authorities.
Following the seizure, Malaysia authorities have intensified
checks on all timber imports entering the country to prevent more
ramin wood being smuggled into the country.
"Now we are checking to see if the seized logs had export
permits. If they do not, Malaysia would have broken the CITES
agreement," forestry department head Zul Mukhshar Mohamed Shaari
told the New Straits Times daily newspaper.
Malaysia, which is a party to the U.N. Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), could be found
guilty of breaking the pact's regulations by allowing the ramin
logs to enter the country without proper permits.
Ramin joined the list of species under CITES last month.
Indonesia banned its export in April.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a London group
that monitors environmental crimes, alerted the Malaysians
claiming most ramin shipments to the country were illegal.
EIA director Dave Currey said Malaysia was a major ramin
trafficking hub and processing center.
"Malaysia's role in this business is tantamount to state-
sanctioned theft of a neighbor's natural resources," he said,
adding that about 5 million cubic metres of illegal ramin is
smuggled into Malaysia annually.
Ramin is a hardwood found in Malaysia and Indonesia that is
widely used to make furniture, picture frames, window blinds and
snooker cues.
However, environmentalists warn that illegal logging of ramin
wood was threatening the survival of the already endangered
orang-utans on Borneo island, as the trees are the apes' prime
habitat.