Sources claim that the timber has been assessed under an SGS tracking programme. But this only provides proof that the material being despatched from a port has been sourced from a specific concession. It does not prove anything about the legality or sustainability of the concession itself.
“There do seem to be claims, whether from companies or from the authorities, that this is a guarantee of legality,” said Andy Roby head of corporate social responsibility at the UK’s Timber Trade Federation (TTF). “But all it proves is that timber ‘A’ comes from concession ‘X’, no more than that. It is essentially a means for the PNG authorities to levy tax on the timber suppliers. But there is a concern that this material is getting into the international supply chain and being presented as legal.”
The UK TTF has issued a “high risk” warning to its members to be extremely cautious in handling wood products from PNG because of concerns about the country’s forestry management practices and the lack of “credible evidence of timber legality”.
More follows in next week’s TTJ magazine.
