Government and aid agencies around the world are being urged to support the use of timber from legal and sustainable sources as the rebuilding of Aceh begins in the wake of the tsunami.
WWF Indonesia estimates that some eight million m3 of logs will be needed to rebuild houses, school, offices, fishing boats, hospitals and bridges in the stricken area over the next five years.
Amid concerns that if timber is taken from areas already devastated by illegal logging it could trigger more human disasters, WWF has launched “Timber for Aceh”, an international initiative asking for imported timber to be used for the reconstruction.
WWF says that Sumatra has already lost most of its natural forest, while timber from Indonesia would exacerbate the already severe illegal logging problem.
The organisation wants donor governments and aid agencies to provide alternative foreign supplies of timber, and says companies can help by donating timber from well managed sources.
WWF has already written to the Indonesian government detailing how to facilitate the use of imported timber for the reconstruction and says it has been encouraged by the response.
