The Japanese government is planning to work with Indonesia in developing a system to track timber from source to point of sale.
The move follows pressure on Japan to take steps against the trade in illegal timber.
A recent WWF survey on G8 countries claimed that 20% of Japan’s timber imports are from illegally logged trees.
Indonesian ramin is one species coming under the spotlight, with reports that some Japanese companies are selling illegal ramin wood. Logs are allegedly smuggled to Malaysia and shipped to Japan as a Malaysian product.
Indonesian ramin can only be legally imported with a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora export permit.
