Chinese demand for timber could strip Solomon Islands bare of forests, environmental group says
Scale of logging is ‘so unsustainable that natural forests will be exhausted very soon if nothing changes’, Global Witness says
The South Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands is felling its tropical forests at nearly 20 times a sustainable rate, according to research by an environmental group published on Thursday, driven by insatiable Chinese demand for its timber.
Export volumes of the archipelago’s single largest export commodity leapt more than 20 per cent to just over 3 million cubic metres in 2017, central bank figures show, worth 3 billion Solomon Islands dollars (US$360 million).
Environmental and rights group Global Witness said this was more than 19 times higher than sustainable levels, and if continued could strip the country bare and soon exhaust the single biggest contributor to the Solomons’ economic growth.
Deforestation also removes wild fruits and vegetables that are a local food source and destroys the habitats of animals.
Global Witness’ analysis of import data also found that the overwhelming majority of the timber was sent to China, the world’s top importer of timber, which it said underscored the urgency for Beijing to regulate imports and investigate their origins.
“The scale of the logging is so unsustainable that natural forests will be exhausted very soon if nothing changes,” said Beibei Yin, who led the research team that compiled the report.
“The Chinese companies which import most of the wood are so significant that if all of them together stop buying there is still a chance to revert,” she said in an interview.
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London-based Global Witness took 155,000 cubic metres as a sustainable log export volume from the Solomons, which is the lowest but most recently calculated of several government and expert analyses, with the highest being about 300,000.
It gave no date of its own for the possible exhaustion of forests but cited a preliminary estimate of 2036 which was made in 2011 by the Solomons’ forestry ministry.
The Solomon Islands’ prime minister’s office directed Reuters to the secretary for the forestry minister, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China’s commerce ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Solomon Islands has more than 2.2 million hectares (5.4 million acres) of forest covering about 80 per cent of its land area, which is spread over about 990 islands.
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Though the country’s forestry ministry has previously said it had toughened regulations to combat illegal logging, Global Witness said a lack of enforcement capacity increased the risk of loggers cutting more than permitted.
The group’s satellite analysis of logging roads showed 669km (416 miles) lying above 400m (1,310 feet) elevation, where logging is nominally restricted.
Interpol estimates the global trade in illegal timber to be worth more than US$50 billion annually.
