finland_press.jpg

London - 19 September 2006: A Greenpeace International report released today reveals how illegally logged timber from Russia is being freely imported into Finland to factories including those of Stora Enso, which is partly owned by the Finnish State.

In its report, Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace Investigation into Finland's Illegal Timber Trade with Russia, Greenpeace has documented wide-spread illegal logging in the Russian Republic of Karelia.(1)

During undercover field research between June and August 2006, campaigners witnessed timber being harvested in violation of Russian forest and environmental laws,(2) then transported across the Finnish border to be processed by industry giants UPM Kymmene and Stora Enso.

Products from these mills are exported throughout Europe and beyond, as far away as Japan. Customers of these mills include liquid packaging manufacturers, such as Tetra Pak and Elopak.

"Both Stora Enso and UPM Kymmene pride themselves on their reputations for 'sustainable' forest management. However these companies can not have it both ways. They cannot claim to be good corporate citizens while procuring illegally and unsustainably logged timber from Russia," said Belinda Fletcher, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner.

She continued, "Finland can no longer distance itself from the laundering of illegal timber. As President of the EU, it is the Finnish government's duty to support effective EU-wide legislation stopping the import of illegal and unsustainable timber into Europe. Instead, Finland is allowing the EU to serve as a clearing house for the spoils of forest crime."

The European Commission promised to propose options for legislation to combat the import of illegal timber into Europe, aimed at filling the gaps of an earlier voluntary programme. However, to date, it has failed to deliver. In the meantime, Finland has put economic interests before forest protection, claiming that industry-led voluntary measures are sufficient to control timber trade. The evidence provided in the Greenpeace report makes it clear that these are inadequate.

Greenpeace is one of 180 NGOs and over 80 progressive businesses calling for effective EU-wide legislation to ban illegal timber and to ensure that all timber products on the market come from responsibly managed forests.(3)

Notes to Editors:
[1] Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace Investigation into Finland's Illegal Timber Trade with Russia availble at /media/reports/partners-in-crime-finlands-illegal-timber-trade-with-russia

[2] Karelian forest management and exploitation is based on management plans that have not been assessed by forestry and environmental experts or by civil society, a clear violation of Russian Federal law. In addition to the absence of an EIA, further violations were documented by Greenpeace.

[3] Factsheets on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Industry and NGO statements can be downloaded from http://www.greenpeace.org/forests/finn-russia-industry and http://www.greenpeace.org/forests/finn-russia-ngo respectively.

For further information, please contact Greenpeace UK press office on 0207 865 8225

For related visuals, please contact Franca Michienzi, Greenpeace International, +31 653 819 255

Barito Pacific plywood and doors from Indonesia can still be found in Travis Perkins' UK stores

Greenpeace today welcomed an announcement by timber merchants Jewson that they will cease importing Indonesian rainforest plywood by the end of this year (1).

The statement follows the launch of a Greenpeace report 'Partners in Crime - an investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia's timber barons' which highlighted the role of UK timber companies like Jewson and Travis Perkins in fuelling the destruction of Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.

Today (Saturday 14th June) Greenpeace volunteers are taking action to highlight the continued role of Travis Perkins in the trade in illegal and destructive Indonesian rainforest timber. They are visiting 28 stores across the UK.

Volunteers wearing 'Forest Crime Unit' tabards cordoned off areas where Indonesian plywood and doors were on sale with 'Forest Crime Scene' tape. They then delivered a copy of the Greenpeace report 'Partners in Crime - an investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia's timber barons' to the store manager and handed out leaflets to staff and customers explaining why they should avoid buying Indonesian rainforest timber.

Indonesia is suffering the highest rate of forest destruction in the world, which is driven by demand for cheap timber and paper products. Many of Indonesia's unique species depend upon these forests for their survival and the country now has more species threatened with extinction than anywhere else on earth, including the orang-utan. The World Bank recently described Indonesia as facing 'a species extinction of planetary proportions' and estimated that if the current rate of forest destruction continues, most of Indonesia's rainforests will be logged out by 2010.

The UK is currently the sixth largest importer of Indonesian plywood in the world. Shiploads of plywood from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests arrive in the UK each month.

John Sauven, Greenpeace forest campaigner said, "Using ancient rainforest timber for plywood is like smashing up Stonehenge to make paving stones. It's outrageous that Travis Perkins are continuing to buy timber they know comes from companies engaged in illegal logging and human rights abuses. They should follow the lead taken by Jewson and stop selling Indonesian rainforest plywood".

Greenpeace is demanding that Travis Perkins stop their involvement with Indonesian rainforest timber until it can be certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards - which guarantees it comes from environmentally and socially responsible forestry. We are asking consumers to stop fuelling rainforest destruction by avoiding Indonesian wood products and buying only FSC accredited wood.

EDITIOR'S NOTES:
For more information contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.

(1) In a press statement Jewson stated "During 2003 Jewson will import at least 80% of its plywood product from alternative sources which can demonstrate a clear commitment to sustainable development. Furthermore going forward Jewson is committed to importing zero plywood from Indonesia".

For a full copy of the Indonesian forest report 'Partners in Crime' with full references, or for a copy of the edited media briefing visit www.saveordelete.com

For information on how to make sure the timber you buy comes from sustainable sources see http://www.fsc-uk.info/

Greenpeace and Timbmet Limited, the UK's leading hardwoods distributor are running a series of monthly RIBA CPD approved seminars for architects on specifying timber from well managed forests. The Specifying timber from well-managed forests: answers for architects course is designed for architects, other specifiers and contractors. It is, in part, a response to growing pressures from national and local government, private developers and consumers, for the use of 'legal and sustainable' timbers. For more information contact Mike Packer at Timbmet: 01865 860638.

Travis Perkins ancient forest crime scene

Greenpeace volunteers this morning entered Travis Perkins timber merchants in Dalston, East London and tried to cordon off areas of the store containing illegal and destructively logged timber from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests.

The store is one of 24 Travis Perkins timber merchants in 15 regions around the country (including Hampstead, Paddington, Vauxhall, Battersea and Palmers Green in London) being visited by Greenpeace volunteers today.

Volunteers wearing 'Forest Crime Unit' tabards will cordon off areas where Indonesian plywood and doors are on sale with 'Forest Crime Scene' tape. They will then deliver a copy of the Greenpeace report 'Partners in Crime - an investigation of the links between the UK and Indonesia's timber barons' to the store manager and hand out leaflets to staff and customers.

Indonesia is suffering the highest rate of forest destruction in the world, which is driven by demand for cheap timber and paper products. Many of Indonesia's unique species depend upon these forests for their survival and the country now has more species threatened with extinction than anywhere else on earth, including the orang-utan. The World Bank recently described Indonesia as facing 'a species extinction of planetary proportions' and estimated that if the current rate of forest destruction continues, most of Indonesia's rainforests will be logged out by 2010.

The UK is the sixth largest importer of Indonesian plywood in the world. Shiploads of plywood from Indonesia's last remaining rainforests arrive in the UK each month.

The Partners in Crime report cites Travis Perkins and Jewson timber merchants as two of the largest traders in the UK dealing in illegal Indonesian timber. Earlier this year, Greenpeace investigators discovered Indonesian timber, bought from companies involved in illegal logging, being sold as cheap plywood and doors in Travis Perkins and Jewson stores across the UK. Since the report was released Jewson have confirmed that they will stop selling Indonesian plywood products.

John Sauven, Greenpeace forest campaigner said, "Using ancient rainforest timber for plywood is like smashing up Stonehenge to make paving stones. It's outrageous that Travis Perkins are continuing to buy timber they know comes from companies engaged in illegal logging and human rights abuses. They should follow the lead taken by Jewson and stop selling Indonesian rainforest plywood".

Greenpeace is demanding that Travis Perkins stop their involvement with Indonesian rainforest timber until it can be certified to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards - which guarantees it comes from environmentally and socially responsible forestry. We are asking consumers to stop fuelling rainforest destruction by avoiding Indonesian wood products and instead buying only FSC accredited wood.

EDITIOR'S NOTES:
For a full copy of the Indonesian forest report 'Partners in Crime' with full references, or for a copy of the edited media briefing visit www.saveordelete.com

For information on how to make sure the timber you buy comes from sustainable sources see http://www.fsc-uk.org/

Cabinet office: Crime scene

Greenpeace today welcomes the findings of the Cabinet Office investigation into the timber procurement for 22 Whitehall and welcomes the Cabinet Office commitment to fall in line with Government timber procurement policy to use only legal and sustainable timber products.

The Government report follows the recent Greenpeace investigation in April, which exposed the use of hundreds of thousands of pounds of sapele timber from Africa's threatened Forest of the Great Apes to refurbish the Cabinet Office in Whitehall.

The report concedes that in response to three Parliamentary Questions on the subject of the timber used in this project, the Government erroneously said that the timber was required under the contract to be from 'certifiable sustainably managed sources on which certificates are to be made available', and the Government erroneously said that 'evidence provided by the main contractor indicates that all the timber supplied so far has been derived from sustainable and legal sources, i.e. the timber has been purchased under certified logging schemes'.

In fact, the findings of the Cabinet Office investigation confirm that Greenpeace was right in its claims: the Cabinet Office had failed to adhere to Government timber procurement policy. Also, the main contractor, Balfour Beatty could provide no evidence that the wood was from legal and sustainable sources as the Cabinet Office contract did stipulate.

As the Cabinet Office report states: 'What is clear is that the contract for 22 Whitehall did not follow Government policy.' Further, when the Cabinet Office requested documentation from Balfour Beatty in line with its (inadequate) contract, 'The documentation provided by Balfour Beatty did not include any certification that the forests or plantations from which the timber was or may have been sourced were in fact (sustainably managed).'

As a result of today's announcement by the Cabinet Office, Greenpeace calls on Prime Minister, Tony Blair to set the House of Commons records straight. Contrary to his statement to the House on 10 April that Greenpeace was 'misconceived', today's report shows that Greenpeace was correct in its information.

John Sauven, Greenpeace Forest Campaign Director, said 'The investigation into the Cabinet Office is a big wake-up call to both Government and the construction industry to take seriously the buying of timber from legal and sustainable sources and to stop the destruction of ancient forests, home to most of the world's biodiversity.'

Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255

Behind closed doors: A major Greenpeace investigation

Publication date: July 2000

Summary
During the last 10 months Greenpeace investigators using tracking devices and equipped with camcorders have been documenting the import trade of criminal timber from the heart of the Amazon rainforest to the UK. Investigators have been documenting evidence of this illegal timber through the supply chain route to its end-user. Greenpeace's investigation has uncovered a trail of criminal plywood from the Amazon rainforest to the British Museum, the furniture store Heals, the Olympia Exhibition Centre and dozens of large and small timber merchants, yards and depots around the country.

Publication date: April 2000

Summary
All three international companies targeted by Greenpeace's Amazon campaign in Brazil - Malaysian based WTK/Amaplac, Eidai from Japan and French based Lapeyre - have shifted ground as a result of campaign work carried out over the last six months.

After years of unsustainable logging operations in Brazil, Amalpac has agreed to discuss with Greenpeace a schedule for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification of Amaplac's operations in the Amazon. Eidai have stated publicly to Greenpeace in Japan that "they will no longer buy illegal logs" and will discuss FSC with their Brazilian subsidiaries. Lapeyre is ready to make a commitment to buying FSC Amazon timber, via its Brazilian subsidiary Eldorado and has joined the FSC buyers group in Brazil. Following a recent meeting with Greenpeace, Lapeyre made a commitment that within 5 years they will only source from 'cultivated forests' or from ancient forests if it is supported by an independent certification system supported by Greenpeace and other major NGOs.

Mahogany report UK summary

Publication date: October 2001

Summary
On-the-ground investigations by Greenpeace in the Brazilian Amazon have documented damning new evidence of the truth behind the glamorous image of mahogany. Two mahogany kings now largely control the illegal mahogany trade in Pará State the major point of export for mahogany in Brazil. Moisés Carvalho Pereira and Osmar Alves Ferreira are ruthless and corrupt. More than 70% of the direct exports of mahogany from Pará to the UK came through companies connected to these two kings...