Forestry Agency Sets up Task Force on Illegal Logging

The G8 Summit to be held in the UK in July 2005 will have illegal logging on its agenda, and to prepare for this, Japan's Forestry Agency has established an ad hoc Task Force on Illegal Logging consisting of six full-time officials. The Task Force will work from February 1 to July 31, 2005 to strengthen measures to suppress illegal logging.

The Japanese government has so far made financial contributions to the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the Asia Forest Partnership (AFP) as measures to suppress illegal logging. Notably, Japan and Indonesia have been working together as leading partners of the AFP - more than half of Indonesia's timber production comes from illegal logging. The two countries have cooperated to 1) formulate guidelines for measures against illegal logging, 2) enhance timber traceability in exporting countries, 3) promote information exchange, research and educational activities on illegal logging, and 4) develop ways to eliminate both export and import of illegally harvested timber.

On the domestic front, the Japanese government has also been developing technologies to monitor logging practices using satellite data, and has established a council for addressing illegal logging, with the participation of domestic wood-processing firms, non-governmental organizations and consumers' groups. Japan also plans to develop technology starting in FY 2005 to trace timber origins using a bar code and IC tags in order to combat illegal logging. This initiative is based on the Japan –Indonesia collaborative action plan.



Posted: 2005/06/03 10:23:22 AM
Japanese version