How China's purchasing power can save the world's forests
Kees Kodde says its companies can choose sustainably harvested wood
Worldwide, 13 million hectares of forests are disappearing every year. With so many of the world's forests already destroyed, we urgently need to protect what is left.
The EU has adopted new legislation recently to stop imports of illegal timber. Earlier, the US and Australia adopted similar legislation. It's time for China to reduce its footprint on our remaining rainforests.
Much has improved in China's forest policies. The country has actually increased its forest cover over the past decade. But, at the same time, it is importing ever-increasing volumes of commodities that contribute to global forest destruction.
The earth cannot sustain life without healthy forests. They are home to over two-thirds of the world's species. They are the green lungs of the planet, supplying us with oxygen and helping to balance rainfall and the climate. The three largest remaining rainforests of the world are the Amazon, the Congo and the rainforests of Indonesia; all are under siege.
The main drivers of deforestation are different in each. But what they have in common is an increasing focus on China as the main export destination. In the Amazon, expanding cattle fields and soya bean plantations have led to serious deforestation. Seventy per cent of the soya beans produced in Brazil are exported to China, feeding its burgeoning industry of pigs and poultry.
In the Congo, logging for timber has had a devastating impact on forest areas. Most of this logging is illegal. And 40 per cent of the timber exported from the Democratic Republic of Congo reaches Chinese shores.
In Indonesia, the two biggest causes of deforestation are pulp and paper, and palm oil plantations, with nearly half of exports of pulp and paper going to China. China has become the second-largest importer of palm oil worldwide.
