Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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2003 (and previous) press releases
Government Clueless on Illegal Timber - Lib Dems Call for Ban
The Government has no idea whether timber imported into the UK comes from illegal or unsustainable sources, despite claiming to care for the environment.
In a topical motion to conference today, Protecting the World's Forests, Liberal Democrats will call for a ban on the import of all illegally harvested timber, in a bid to end unsustainable deforestation.
The Government has admitted it could not ensure that illegally logged timber does not enter the UK, as HM Customs and Excise do not record the timber's country of origin.
Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, said:
"Deforestation is having a devastating impact on the global climate, as well as destroying the local environment for many people and animals. Yet the Government has failed to take effective action to combat the import of illegally harvested timber.
"Government statistics show the UK importing timber from places such as Vatican City, a country with no natural timber resources. We have no way of knowing if that timber has been legally and sustainably sourced.
"The longer we wait to take action against climate change, the more damage we will do. Legislation to ban the import of illegal timber must be put in place as a matter of urgency."
Sue Doughty MP, LibDem member of the Environmental Audit Committee, said:
"Time is running out for forests. What
hope is there for a sustainable future when the Government itself is using
non-sustainable timber, as it did in the construction of the new Home Office
building earlier this year? It is hard to say which is worse - Government
actions or Government inaction."
ENDS
(See Notes to Editors)
Notes to editors:
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what
requirements there are on timber merchants to identify the source of timber
imported into the UK. [125152]
Nigel Griffiths: None. The Timber Trade Federation operates a code of practice
and organisations like the WWF 1995 Plus Group have been set up to encourage
merchants and retailers to promote business methods that are consistent with
sustainable forestry practices.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from which
countries the UK imports timber; what percentage of the total timber import
comes from each country; what percentage is from unidentified sources; and what
steps the Government takes to ensure the timber is from sustainable sources in
each country. [125153]
Nigel Griffiths: Data on the UK's imports of timber are given in the following
table.
Statistics on UK imports of goods are compiled by HM Customs and Excise. The
information is published on the basis of the country of consignment: which is
normally the last country in which a commercial transaction takes place.
Information on the country of consignment is comprehensive for countries outside
the European Union (EU). Within the EU detailed information is collected from
all but very small traders. Overall, small traders are estimated to account for
2-3 per cent. of the value of UK trade with the EU, or about half that for total
UK trade in goods. HM Customs and Excise do not collect from importers
information relating to the precise origin of the timber, ie. whether or not the
timber was forested from a legal and sustainably managed source, other than the
country of consignment.
Comprehensive data, by country of origin is not available. The free flow of
goods within the Single European Market means that information on the country of
origin is not always available when goods are first imported into another
European Union country and then consigned to the UK.
The Government have shown leadership in its strong encouragement of the European
Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) process. This is part of
the EU's wider objective to encourage sustainable forest management and ensure
that timber entering the EU is sustainably sourced. The Government are broadly
supportive of the Commission's recently published FLEGT action plan and will
work with other member states to ensure the Commission is able to make rapid
progress.
|
UK
imports of timber in 2002 |
£000 |
Percentage share |
|---|---|---|
|
Total Imports |
1,295,351 |
100.00 |
|
Sweden |
325,172 |
25.10 |
|
Latvia |
205,504 |
15.86 |
|
Finland |
193,389 |
14.93 |
|
USA |
75,570 |
5.83 |
|
Russia |
65,909 |
5.09 |
|
Canada |
62,164 |
4.80 |
|
Estonia |
52,680 |
4.07 |
|
Irish Republic |
43,462 |
|
|
Germany |
31,326 |
2.42 |
|
Malaysia |
26,536 |
2.05 |
|
France |
20,239 |
1.56 |
|
Netherlands |
19,813 |
1.53 |
|
Italy |
19,720 |
1.52 |
|
Lithuania |
14,144 |
1.09 |
|
Norway |
12,932 |
1.00 |
|
Cameroon |
12,851 |
0.99 |
|
Brazil |
12,575 |
0.97 |
|
Indonesia |
10,740 |
0.83 |
|
Belgium |
10,377 |
0.80 |
|
Denmark |
7,937 |
0.61 |
|
China |
7,931 |
0.61 |
|
Ivory Coast |
7,551 |
0.58 |
|
Czech Republic |
6,951 |
0.54 |
|
Ghana |
6,570 |
0.51 |
|
Poland |
5,080 |
0.39 |
|
Singapore |
4,096 |
0.32 |
|
Portugal |
3,726 |
0.29 |
|
Austria |
3,000 |
0.23 |
|
Chile |
2,955 |
0.23 |
|
Guyana |
2,424 |
0.19 |
|
South Africa |
2,258 |
0.17 |
|
Spain |
1,943 |
0.15 |
|
Slovakia |
1,528 |
0.12 |
|
Romania |
1,520 |
0.12 |
|
Thailand |
1,406 |
0.11 |
|
Australia |
1,259 |
0.10 |
|
Congo |
1,124 |
0.09 |
|
Honduras |
1,080 |
0.08 |
|
Taiwan |
1,074 |
0.08 |
|
Liberia |
1,012 |
0.08 |
|
Burma |
979 |
0.08 |
|
Hong Kong |
690 |
0.05 |
|
Ukraine |
600 |
0.05 |
|
Philippines |
510 |
0.04 |
|
Switzerland |
384 |
0.03 |
|
Hungary |
319 |
0.02 |
|
India |
314 |
0.02 |
|
New Zealand |
307 |
0.02 |
|
Serbia and Montenegro |
267 |
0.02 |
|
Turkey |
262 |
0.02 |
|
Zaire |
255 |
0.02 |
|
Tanzania |
223 |
0.02 |
|
Costa Rica |
210 |
0.02 |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
185 |
0.01 |
|
Zimbabwe |
171 |
0.01 |
|
Slovenia |
143 |
0.01 |
|
Gabon |
136 |
0.01 |
|
Papua New Guinea |
134 |
0.01 |
|
Bulgaria |
132 |
0.01 |
|
Cyprus |
129 |
0.01 |
|
Luxembourg |
121 |
0.01 |
|
Gibraltar |
114 |
0.01 |
|
Japan |
107 |
0.01 |
|
Nigeria |
95 |
0.01 |
|
Guinea |
84 |
0.01 |
|
Croatia |
79 |
0.01 |
|
Ecuador |
78 |
0.01 |
|
Central African Rep. |
77 |
0.01 |
|
Bolivia |
57 |
0.00 |
|
British Virgin Islands |
52 |
0.00 |
|
South Korea |
52 |
0.00 |
|
Algeria |
37 |
0.00 |
|
Greece |
37 |
0.00 |
|
Mozambique |
36 |
0.00 |
|
Jamaica |
35 |
0.00 |
|
Dominican Republic |
35 |
0.00 |
|
Belize |
34 |
0.00 |
|
Vatican City |
34 |
0.00 |
|
Peru |
31 |
0.00 |
|
Panama (inc. Former Canal Zone) |
27 |
0.00 |
|
Laos |
25 |
|
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
25 |
0.00 |
|
Surinam |
21 |
0.00 |
|
Syria |
18 |
0.00 |
|
Madagascar |
17 |
0.00 |
|
Macedonia |
16 |
0.00 |
|
Armenia |
15 |
0.00 |
|
Burundi |
14 |
0.00 |
|
Sharjah etc. |
12 |
0.00 |
|
Dubai |
12 |
0.00 |
|
Saudi Arabia |
10 |
0.00 |
|
Mexico |
8 |
0.00 |
|
Bahamas |
8 |
0.00 |
|
Malta |
8 |
0.00 |
|
Libya |
7 |
0.00 |
|
Israel |
6 |
0.00 |
|
Namibia |
6 |
0.00 |
|
Argentina |
6 |
0.00 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
5 |
0.00 |
|
Mauritius |
5 |
0.00 |
|
Swaziland |
4 |
0.00 |
|
Sri Lanka |
3 |
0.00 |
|
Gambia |
2 |
0.00 |
Note:
Timber is defined as headings 247 and 248 of the Standard International Trade
Classification, Rev 3 (SITC).
Source:
Compiled by DTI from HM Customs and Excise data
15 Jul 2003 : Column 164W