world news - 15.06.2007
Greenpeace Hails B&Q China for Hardwood Curbs
Home improvement chain B&Q has stopped selling a popular but
endangered hardwood in China, a move Greenpeace hailed as a crucial step
towards protecting rainforests from the country's voracious appetite for
timber. "We have
decided to cease selling merbau ... I am calling all the home improvement
industry to join and stop selling this particular timber," he said,
referring to China. "This is
one of the most endangered of all hardwood species. There's very little from
certified sources." B&Q was
gradually dropping merbau in other parts of Asia, including Taiwan, where it is
still selling a small quantity. With 60 stores
across China, B&Q, a unit of Britain's Kingfisher, is one of the biggest
home-improvement retailers in the country, which has seen double-digit growth
in demand for such materials due to a rapid economic development and
urbanisation. Its decision on
merbau, one of the most valuable timbers in Southeast Asia, is B&Q's first
step towards a comprehensive programme in China to help sustain global forests.
It is working
with Greenpeace to eliminate all illegal and controversial sources by 2010 and
switch to proven, well-managed forests for flooring, furniture and plywood in
China. "We are on
the journey at the moment for doing that," said Gilman, based in Hong Kong
where it opened its first store in this month. The move came
as conservationists warn China's timber trade is causing irreplaceable
deforestation across the world, adding to pressure to global warming. Greenpeace welcomed
the B&Q's initiative to shift to timber certified to Forest Stewardship
Council and Tropical Forest Trust, independent bodies promoting sustainable
forestry. "A large
corporation like B&Q can play a real leadership role," said Tamara
Stark, Greenpeace China's forest coordinator. "China
being a very large market, a lot can be done. Companies operating in China can
help protect the forests."
Steve Gilman,
B&Q Asia's chief executive officer, told Reuters the company was no longer
offering merbau -— a resilient, dark, red wood grown in Papua New Guinea and
Indonesia -— for flooring, and he urged others to follow suit.
See also:
- — FPA against 'indiscriminate' restrictions on log exports
- — New species of tree discovered
- — More wood than ever growing in Swedish forests
- — County's timber harvest declines
- — Rainforest furniture
