China Issues Rules on Overseas Logging

Bejing, China, August 29, 2007--China, accused of stripping forests in other countries to meet its booming demand, has issued rules governing logging companies working overseas, state media reported Wednesday.

The guidelines from the State Forestry Administration and the Commerce Ministry will promote reforestation and bio-diversity, Xinhua News Agency said.

"The purpose of the move is to guide relevant enterprises to help the countries or regions that are faced with difficulties in forest restoration and to help improve the livelihood of local residents," Forestry Administration Jia Zhibang told Xinhua News.

The report carried on the government's main website did not give details.

In March, the environmental group Greenpeace said that rising Chinese demand for wood and the developed world's desire for cheap wood products were fueling an illegal timber trade and the destruction of ancient forests in the Asia-Pacific region.

The group said in a report that between 76% and 90% of the logging in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea was illegal, with the timber going to China.

Once in China, the lumber is turned into furniture, flooring and plywood for both domestic consumption and export to markets in the United States, Europe and Japan to satisfy rising demand for inexpensive wood products, Greenpeace said.

In the last decade, China has become the world's largest importer of tropical timber--half of all tropical trees being logged globally end up in China. Total consumption of wood products in China increased by 70% in those 10 years, the Greenpeace report said.