Latest comments posted about Managing Chinese forests responsibly on ChinaDialogue en-gb http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/1650-Managing-Chinese-forests-responsibly http://staging.chinadialogue.net/images/cdlogo.gif http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/1650-Managing-Chinese-forests-responsibly Two faults in this article: 1. The exact name of FSC in Chinese is '森林管理委员会'. 2. Over 600 companies but not the 300 mentioned that have been monitored and certified by FSC now. Translated by Ming Li Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:16:11 -0400 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7877 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7877 The geography of many of China's new plantations makes it unlikely that they will be a great commercial (or social) success. Particularly worrying is the spread of genetically modified trees. The development of some plantations in Laos, Cambodia and elsewhere (..) tends to require (and be an excuse for) the illegal acquisition of land rights from indigenous people. Many of the FSC Chain of Custody certificates issued in China are used fraudulently and some have been revoked. China's local and export markets are distorted by the cheapness of the implicitly illegal logs which China imports. China's need is for profitable timber not timber per se. Much of the blame for China's poor reputation really does lie with the countries which import from China. Posted by "globaltimber" Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:23:45 -0500 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7017 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7017 Wallmart has just been exposed for buying wood products made in China from illegal (Russian) timber. China is known as the world hub for trade in Illegal Timber. Repeated exposés and numerous reports tend to confirm this. Perhaps these would have more impact if translated into Chinese - and made freely available over the Internet in China. 40% of what China imports is probably illegal. It would be naïf to expect complaints about this from producer country officials and judiciaries given the extent of their corruption and complicity. Most of China's illegal tropical timber is supplied by Malaysian firms linked to Fujian province. Illegal Logging takes places in China - notably in Yunnan, typically with foreign involvement. Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:22:18 -0500 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7015 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7015 China has so little experience of sustainable logging (the ban on logging in China's forests is a consequence of this) - particularly in the tropics - that the suggestion that Chinese enterprises can set a good example in logging natural forest in tropical countries is at best fanciful. Further, most of the enterprises which supply logs to China use Chinese labour rather than local labour - which, coupled with poor forest management, leads to great local resentment. However, high levels of political patronage tend to minimise the risk of violent backlash. Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:23:01 -0500 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7016 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7016 It is impressive to read of China's efforts to support and promote sustainable forestry. It seems China is in a unique position to influence the way logging is done around the world. China is certainly a major player. By refusing to allow business exchanges with companies that are not certified, I think China can incentivize sustainable practices. I particularly enjoyed the "Buy My Floor Boards and I'll Plant Trees" campaign! I continue to be impressed with China's leadership in certain areas of sustainability. China is way ahead of the US in supporting mostly manmade forests for building and development. CUNappo Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:00:58 -0500 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7004 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7004 This article is interesting in that I didn't know that there was such a great yield possible from man made forests or that such means of timber production were utilized by leading exporters. China's timber trade is increasing at an incredible rate and the business isn't just in China but with neighboring countries who export timber to china for manufacturing (malaysia). For this reason, it is important that China take the initiative to only use trees from certified forests and only import trees from countries who have similarly approved forests. This kind of initiative will set the standard for forest responsability and hopefully will help encourage proper forest management. TRS Sun, 27 Jan 2008 15:46:24 -0500 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7000 http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/summary/1650#comment-7000