NEWS RELEASE
Date: 2 March 2007
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Gardiner in Japan and USA to tackle illegal timber
Britain's forestry minister will encourage politicians, the timber trade and environmental experts worldwide to back more global cooperation to combat illegal logging and protect forests on a visit to Japan and the USA.
Barry Gardiner, Minister for Biodiversity, Landscape and Rural Affairs, will call for greater international effort to tackle illegal logging and promote responsible forest management when he meets Japanese Environment Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi and Forestry Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoko then addresses an international conference in Washington next week.
Mr Gardiner will be in Tokyo for talks as part of Japan's preparations for its G8 presidency next year before attending the GLOBE event in Washington.
About 20 per cent of global greenhouse gases come from deforestation, and illegal logging costs developing countries worldwide about £10billion a year in lost revenue.
Britain, as the world's fourth biggest net importer of wood products, is committed to promoting sustainable forest management and tackling the trade in illegal timber.
Barry Gardiner said:
"Forests are a global resource. That means we all must share a sense of responsibility for them. We need thriving, sustainable forests and sustainable timber industries.
"The world must give more international consideration to forest biodiversity, acting at all stages of the supply chain. Regulation and better governance on the supply side and incentivisation on the demand side both can help to influence the market in favour of legal and sustainable timber.
"The UK is leading the world in public sector demand for legal timber from sustainably managed forests, and if more countries work together we will create the right climate and conditions for change.
"Illegal logging degrades forests and damages the environment, reducing biodiversity while increasing greenhouse gas emissions. It hurts many of the world's poorest people who depend on forests for their livelihoods, robbing poor countries of revenues that should be used to develop their economies. It also distorts international trade by undercutting unfairly the legitimate market price for timber."
Mr Gardiner recently sealed an agreement with the Australian government to work closer together to combat illegal timber.
For more information go to:
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/internat/forests/index.htm
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Page published: 2 March 2007