Birmingham Friends of the Earth Action Briefing Feb/Mar 99

Vietnam - Forests Threatned

Natural forests around the world are being eaten up by unsustainable logging activities. The threat to rainforests from Mahogany production is already well known, and in fact Friends of the Earth has campaigned (and continues to campaign) successfully on this issue, having made a big dent in the demand for this timber in Britain. Now there is a new threat to the world's rain forests, in the shape of garden furniture from Vietnam. Illegal logging on a large scale is taking place in neighbouring Cambodia, and despite a log export ban, the logs are smuggled through the porous border into Vietnam where they are made into garden furniture. This is being imported into Europe via a long and complex supply chain, to be sold in garden centres and stores around the U.K.

Large areas of pristine forest are being decimated, and the resulting increase in soil erosion and surface run-off is adversely affecting the rice harvest and local fisheries. The logging concessions are operated by the military, so they and a few powerful business leaders appear to be the main players benefiting from this activity.

The situation is so serious that the World Bank estimated that within three to five years, the rainforest in Cambodia would be totally depleted if the rate of destruction is continued (in 1997, 4.2 million cubic metres of timber was cut). To add insult to injury, the garden furniture is being stamped with environmentally friendly labelling, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth!

The Cambodian authorities have taken a strong stance against the illegal logging, and recently seized truckloads of illegally felled logs to show the world that it meant business. The economy as a whole has been badly affected by the trade since the International Monetary Fund suspended an aid programme last year due to the Cambodian government's failure to collect revenue from logging.

Friends of the Earth will be running a Europe-wide campaign in the run up to Easter to highlight the problem and ultimately put pressure on retailers not to sell garden furniture from Vietnam. Friends of the Earth in Birmingham will be having a day of action on April 10th 1999 to alert the public to this issue and hopefully persuade them not to buy this garden furniture. We will also be drawing attention to the false green claims made by many products, and will be promoting the Forest Stewardship Council as a credible labelling scheme which means that when people buy wooden products, they can be confident that goods so marked are made from wood harvested from sustainably managed forests. Details of the exact venue for the day of action will be available nearer to the time (contact the warehouse on 632 6909).

Meanwhile, what can you do to help?

• If you are buying garden furniture, avoid anything made in Vietnam. Also be wary of certain other countries' timber products such as those from Ghana and Indonesia. Although nothing is quite as bad as the situation which exists in Cambodia/Vietnam, there are many other countries with unsustainable forestry and logging operations.
• We need to know of all those retail outlets who are selling or intend to sell this garden furniture, so that we can put pressure on them and hopefully persuade them not to sell any more. So if you stumble upon a shop selling Vietnamese garden furniture please let us know. We will also get a better idea of which stores to target for the day of action.

At the time of writing, many stores had not taken delivery of their new stock, (this usually takes place in early Spring) so it is not certain which places are intending to sell the Vietnamese garden furniture. However closer to delivery dates, the stores should have a better idea as to the source of the timber used.

Martin Stride