Burma's forests under threat from illegal logging fuelled by China's demand for precious wood
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Version 0 of 1. Illegal logging in Burma’s forests is a burgeoning trade worth hundreds of millions of pounds as demand for precious wood grows in China, a new report claims. Systemic corruption contributes to the trade being one of the single largest overland flows of illegal timber in the world, according to the report, by the Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA). The report claims Chinese and Burmese businesses are working with Burma’s military and local Chinese officials to facilitate the illicit trade. The bulk of the timber is from high value species of rosewood and teak, logged from Burma’s forests in Kachin state, a conflict-riven region bordering China’s Yunnan province. Burma’s regulations prohibit the overland export of wood. Julian Newman, campaigns director of the Environmental Investigations Agency, a UK-based NGO, said China needed to ensure its supply of timber is legal. “China really needs to look at its industry, to build sustainability and ensure material is legal,” said Mr Newman, co-author of the report. He said that it was time to highlight the role of China in the timber market. The report’s release comes a week before trade talks between Burma and China are due to begin in Naypyitaw, Burma’s capital. “We want to convince the Chinese government and Chinese companies to act. They can play a very positive role if they want to. The Yunnan [provincial] government has stopped logging for four months, until the end of the year”, he said. Chinese illegal logging was put in the spotlight when the Burmese army raided an illegal logging operation in Kachin state in January, which led to the arrest of more than 155 Chinese nationals. A diplomatic row ensued when 153 of the Chinese were given life sentences in July (two of the arrested were adolescents given shorter sentences). A few days later, with pressure from Beijing, the prisoners were all freed following a “general presidential pardon”. Burmese teak has become highly prized. The growing wealth of Chinese consumers has led to increased demand of the luxury wooden furniture that primarily uses rosewood. The bulk of the timber is from high value species of rosewood and teak, logged from Burma’s forests in Kachin state (Getty) One Burmese man who used to work in Kachin at a trucking checkpoint near the border, but did not want to be named, said: “They only cut in the day time, and then at night they carried the teak to China... Sometimes we would get 10 trucks coming through a night, sometimes 100.” Burma’s government said it “does not support or encourage illegal logging or trading”, with Nay Aye, the director general of Burma’s Environmental Conservation Department, saying the government had “sacked or demoted corrupt government staff”. Deforestation in Burma has become a growing concern among conservationists, with the country losing an average of 185,000 hectares of forest cover a year since 2009. And the problem of illegal logging will continue to escalate, according to Mr Newman, without government intervention. He says the volume of illegal timber crossing the border has almost reached the peak seen a decade ago, before Chinese authorities temporarily clamped down. “Either there’s government intervention or the wood runs out...” he said. |