Malaysia Plays Key Role In Indonesian Deforestation, Illegal Logging

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WASHINGTON, DC, February 6, 2004 (ENS) - "The thriving illegal trade in a rare tropical hardwood is fueling the destruction of Indonesian rainforests and is moving the orangutan and other endangered species closer to extinction, environmentalists said Thursday. Trade in ramin timber is regulated and restricted by international treaty, but officials are doing little to stop a steady stream of the illegal Indonesian hardwood from slipping through Malaysian ports out into the world market.

A new report documenting the trade finds Malaysia plays a key role in the trade, which is undermining the international community's efforts to protect endangered species and to crack down on illegal logging.

"The ramin case is particularly damaging, as it shows Malaysia to be willfully undermining an international convention," Julian Newman of the Environmental Investigation Agency, which released the report documenting the trade along with Telapak, an Indonesian partner organization.

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Investigators with the organizations posed as timber buyers and witnessed the direct involvement of military and police with Indonesian timber barons. The environmental organizations also released video evidence of Malaysian businessmen boasting how they obtain government issued documents to export the smuggled ramin. A single port in Malaysia handles up to 70,000 metric tons of ramin timber each year, according to the report, most of which is shipped to China and Taiwan which produce pool cues, mop handles and picture frames."

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http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=29133