Tokyo 2020: Environmental groups call on Olympic organisers to admit violating its own standards for sustainability
- Twelve NGOs release a statement to coincide with the inauguration of Japan’s new National Stadium to be used for the 2020 Olympic Games
- The group says the use of plywood has caused permanent damage to Southeast Asian rainforest and affected indigenous people
Environmental groups have urged Tokyo 2020 organisers to admit violating their own standards in their use of tropical plywood to help build the National Stadium for next year’s Olympic Games.
The group, comprising 12 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), released a statement on Saturday, the same day as a ceremony to celebrate the inauguration of the stadium featuring sporting, musical and cultural acts.
They slammed organisers for undermining the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals programme by causing irreversible damage to Southeast Asian rainforests and affecting the lives of indigenous people.
“The construction of the New National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo has come at an enormous cost to the Southeast Asian tropical rainforests,” said the statement.
“The substantial use of tropical plywood from Indonesia and Malaysia has led to the degradation and permanent loss of valuable rainforests, at the expense of the climate, biodiversity, and the rights and livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local communities.