Tropical timber
Timber from domestic forests is a natural and renewable resource which is both modern and environmentally friendly. But is that also true of tropical timber from rainforests?
Tropical timber is a popular material that is still quite common in our home-improvement stores. Its use entails many problems and disadvantages, however. Numerous studies have shown that most of it – in some source countries up to 90 percent – was felled illegally, destroying ecosystems forever. Furthermore, trade in illegal timber still has not been banned in the EU.
Every year, 13 million hectares of rainforest disappear worldwide. These figures show that not buying tropical timber at all is still the most effective way to counter the trade in illegally logged timber. Timber grown locally is a sound alternative.
Learn more from our FAQs
Glossary
FSC: The seal of the Forest Stewardship Council, which purports to certify sustainable forestry. In the past, however, the FSC has often certified dubious projects or wood from demonstrably illegal logging operations. We therefore advise consumers to avoid tropical timber altogether.
Your signature can make a real difference. Our petitions expose destructive projects and name the perpetrators. Together we can have an even greater impact!
The Mentawai islands could be facing this on a vast scale. (© YCMM)
Indonesia: NO to the wholesale deforestation of the Mentawai islands!
Indonesia has granted a permit to a company for large-scale logging on Sipora in the Mentawai islands. Over the next 30 years, it will be allowed to clear 20,706 hectares of forests and Indigenous lands. This will make locals more vulnerable to floods, water shortages and impacts of climate change. Help us get the permit canceled!
More informationTo: the Governor of West Sumatra, Mahyeldi Ansharullah, and Minister of Forestry and Environment, Siti Nurbaya Bakar.
“Cancel the logging permit that will destroy Sipora island, create floods and erosion. Give the island's Mentawai people formal rights over their ancestral land.”
