[pf] If you're buying Tropical Hardwood ...

· If you know these wood names: meranti, kapor and keruing, and have heard
of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification; first read this excerpt,
then read the original.  D.

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http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/12264/newsDate/4-Sep-2001
/story.htm [all on same line in browser]
  has title:
 . . . . . . FEATURE - Malaysia loggers consider turning over new leaf
----------------------------------------------------------------------
September 4, 2001

BAKUN, Malaysia - ... amid the giant trunks of towering meranti, kapor and
keruing trees being taken to the coast, it is hard to imagine an industry
considering moves to toughen environmental rules.
Logs from this corner of the rain-forested island of Borneo will end up as
plywood, floorboards and furniture around the world.

And some timber barons are beginning to realise the benefits of branding
their timber with the globally recognised Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
certificate of approval.
 ...
Timber firms' re-think is driven by hard cash more than concerns about
distressed orang utans or disappearing cultures among Sarawak's dozens of
different indigenous peoples.
 ...
Tough times since Asia's 1997-1998 financial crisis, the sleepwalking
economy of former dream market Japan, and cheap logs from politically
unstable Indonesia all helped change the tune. Tropical timber prices are
half their 1993 peak of around $300 per cubic metre (yard).

... they had to find new markets and the main markets are in the U.S. and
Europe ... a "very small" number of environment-sensitive customers wanted
timber from certified forests.

Mok said industry scepticism ignored potential demand from FSC enthusiasts
like the United States's Home Depot Inc and European retail group
Kingfisher, owner of home improvements and electricals business B&Q.
 ...
But Malaysia's approach to certification has critics, who say the process
fails properly to address native land rights issues.

Raymond Abin is executive director of the Borneo Resources Institute, ...
said land was at the heart of the debate, pointing to a High Court victory
indigenous groups won last May in state capital Kuching.
 ...
Story by Patrick Chalmers 

REUTERS 

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edited-down, then sent on, by David.
David MacClement [davd @ ihug.co.nz] (remove spaces)
http://davd.tripod.com/GrRR-010824_titles.html#top
http://www.geocities.com/davd.geo/index.html#top
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