The government’s response follows publication of “China and the Global Market for Forest Products: Transforming Trade to Benefit Forests and Livelihoods” – based on five years of research by a coalition of international and Chinese organisations.
The report, part-funded by the UK Department fof International Development (DfID), asks the Chinese government to put pressure on its forest industry and traders to adopt strict codes of conduct, certification and log tracking systems. It also calls on the Chinese authorities to implement public procurement policies requiring the purchase of only verified legallly produced and traded wood products.
Gareth Thomas, parliamentary undersecretary of state for international development, said: “We welcome the valuable information and insights that this work provides. It makes clear that importing countries, like the UK, have a key role to play in ensuring that our imports come from legal and sustainable sources.
“The UK will follow up these recommendations and continue to participate with others in negotiating agreements to crackdown on illegal logging across the world.”
The report says about 70% of all wood imported by China is manufactured into products and then exported, predominantly to the EU, the US and Japan. This booming export trade, coupled with massive domestic use of wood, is having a “devastating” impact on forests globally.
The study was compiled by Forest Trends, the Centre for International Forestry Research and the Centre for Chinese Agricultural Policy and other agencies.
